


Rockabye

by BladeoftheNebula



Series: Rockabye Verse [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alpha/Omega, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern: No Powers, Angst, Domestic Fluff, Family Feels, Firefighter Steve Rogers, Kid Fic, M/M, Pregnancy, Romance, Small Towns
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-05
Updated: 2019-01-21
Packaged: 2019-10-04 21:30:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 38,217
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17312198
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BladeoftheNebula/pseuds/BladeoftheNebula
Summary: Cute alphas didn’t appear out of nowhere to help ruined omegas. That was a widely accepted fact.Tony Stark had always known his life wouldn’t be easy as a genius omega in an alpha’s world. But not even he predicted getting knocked up and forced to move to a small town in the middle of nowhere.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This has been a labour of love (oddly fitting) and I am pleased to present it to the world!
> 
> Many thanks to my beta Tiarn! Thanks for fixing this up and making it respectable! And for listening to me whine about it :) Any remaining mistakes are mine. 
> 
> Title is taken from Rockabye by Clean Bandit. 
> 
> Hope you enjoy!  
> 
> 
> * * *

 

                                      

 

* * *

 

It was incredible how much difference one mistake could make to your life.

Tony stood in the lounge of his new house as his father oversaw the movers unpacking the final items. As they left, his father turned to him.

"I hope that's everything you need. I've set up an allowance as well to cover food and things for when it arrives. If you need anything else, you can contact my PA and he can order it for you—within reason." His father sighed. "This whole thing would've been avoidable if you had actually used that brain of yours.”

That hurt. Omegas had suffered in the past because of the fetishisation of heats and ruts by alphas and the widespread view that intercourse was best for an alpha when both cycles lined up.

Accidental pregnancies were a lot less common since the rights movement and subsidisation of suppressants. Both partners had to be in the rut/heat part of their cycle respectively for pregnancy to occur, and the presence of one triggered the other. Suppressants prevented the trigger so your partner could see you through it safely.

Tony had always been careful, taken his suppressants regularly. But something must’ve gone wrong; maybe he’d had a bad batch. His heat had come on unexpected and fast. But Ty had been on his rut suppressants, so they should've been fine. If Tony had known Ty had stopped taking his meds a month prior, he would've spent his heat on his own. Ty was a moron.

His father shook his head before he walked out, his expression grimly disappointed.

Tony stared out the window as the car drove away.

He’d never really considered the idea of actually getting pregnant until it happened, and he’d certainly never considered the idea of being pregnant without being bonded to an alpha.

Under the Bonding Act of 1921, if he was bonded to Tiberius, he would leave his parents’ home, have his pup and live happy with his alpha. However, without an alpha, the pregnancy became something shameful, something to be shunned for.

His father had been clear Tony couldn’t remain in the manor; too many people would talk.

Tony knew he was luckier than most. His father was a billionaire, so there were options to help him while still respecting societal expectations. Didn’t mean his father was inclined to be more helpful than necessary.

Tony turned away from the window. The empty house stared back at him— _his _house.__ The house had been his grandparents’, left to his mother when they passed before Tony was born and left to him when she died. This had been a surprise to Tony since Howard had never mentioned it, but it was Tony’s name on the title now. A little 3-bedroom house in Shield, NY. It was smart thinking on his mother’s part—protection for him, he knew. Omegas couldn’t buy property; they could only own property that was inherited, and if a bond was broken the alpha took everything.

This was his mother’s gift to him and his pup.

It was old and any maintenance done since his mother’s time had clearly been minimal. It wasn’t much to look at. But it was his. And no one could take it.

It would just be him and his kid here, he knew that.

Another alpha could make a suit—without regular contact Ty’s lingering scent would fade, leaving Tony free to bond. But for an omega, the presence of a pup would be a red flag. No alpha wanted used goods. Which meant going through this whole thing alone. No support while he was pregnant, no hope of someone to help raise his kid.

Alone at last, Tony finally dropped the calm mask he'd been wearing all day. Frustrated tears pricked his eyes. He'd have been better off if Ty had died. At least then Tony would’ve been respectably alpha-less, able to remain at home under his father's protection.

He glared at the small rounded bump of his stomach for a moment. And then softened. It wasn't his pup's fault its father was a grade-A asshole who hit it and quit it. He rubbed the bump gently and sighed. "Guess it's just going to be you and me for a while, kid. I hope you can be patient with me while I work all of this out.”

 

* * *

 

Tony woke up a little disoriented. He blinked at the ceiling, confused, before he remembered where he was and why. He sighed.

He rolled out of bed and opened the curtains. The master bedroom had a big window that looked out into the yard, and his view was very different to his one in New York.

The town was small and picturesque, and his backyard backed onto a small river that flowed from Lake Ontario. It was the kind of place that omega magazines in the city said New Yorkers dreamed of. And it was his.

The master bedroom was upstairs and had a walk-in wardrobe and a dated but clean en suite attached. The room was sparse. Building a nest had never interested him, so it wasn’t like he’d had a lot to bring.

Engineering was his thing.

Before all this, his life had been all set. His father's standing and money had meant that Tony had been allowed to attend university and study mechanical engineering—practically unheard of for an omega but not for the son of Howard Stark. His father had also managed to secure him an entry-level position once he’d graduated. It was low pay and clearly a job they thought even an omega could handle while still appeasing Howard. But it didn't matter because Tony had been excited and ready to prove himself. It would be hard to ignore even an omega when he was out-engineering senior staff.

Tony knew he was a genius. He'd completed his doctorate just before his 20th birthday. Truth be told he could've done it by 17, but it had taken a few tries to convince them he could do postgrad work. He wouldn't have made it if most of the professors in the department hadn't spoken up and praised his mind and work to the board. ("Besides", his future supervisor had said, with a wink to Tony, "wouldn't we look so _progressive _letting an omega do mechanical engineering?”)__

And he understood the technology, knew how to make it do what he needed. He just wanted the chance to invent and leave his mark on the world.

Now he was never going to do that. He was going to have a kid and then that kid would move out and have a life and he would stay here and grow old and alone and never achieve anything.

He rubbed a hand roughly over his face. God, he was morbid this morning.

He pushed away from the window and hit the bathroom.

The pipe of the shower banged worryingly, but the water still flowed through warm, if a little brown.

Ew, he’d have to get that fixed.

He came downstairs to the kitchen, and one look in the fridge reminded him he hadn’t bought any food. He closed the door and thudded his head against it a few times.

He looked at his phone. His appointment with the GP was in an hour.

Luckily—since the nearest hospital was half an hour away—the medical centre had an ultrasound machine and one of the two doctors was trained to use it.

He could probably ask where to buy groceries while he was there.

 

* * *

 

Tony stretched up on his toes trying to reach a pack of pudding. It was exhausting, and he just wanted to sit down, but damn he needed chocolate, since he couldn’t drink. It had been a hell of a day.

Twins. Tony couldn’t believe it. Chances of twins were only like three in every hundred—why was he the lucky one? Doctor Banner, his new GP, had completed the scan and smiled at Tony, probably expecting him to be happy because _wouldn't his alpha be so pleased?_  

Ty was not only a bastard but a fertile one.

Tony had tried to look excited at the news, but he’d just felt sick. Twins meant double the work and even less likelihood an alpha would take an interest in Tony. What alpha wanted to raise another's kid, let alone two?

He was just so...lonely. The other people waiting for their appointments had been happy, excited, grumpy or tired depending on what they were coming to the doctors for—but they’d all had their alpha or someone else with them, someone to be excited with them or to try and cheer them up. Tony had sat there alone, trying to ignore the side glances and pitying looks.

At 4 months, he had started showing, and the last trace of Ty’s scent had faded with the lack of contact, leaving just a big sign flashing ‘ruined pregnant omega here, avoid! Avoid!’. Everyone who got near him now knew he was a fallen omega. Only a few months ago he'd been desirable, alphas constantly posturing, trying to catch the heir of Stark Industries. Finding a mate had never been something he'd been concerned about.

He knew that all he had to do was pick up the phone and call Rhodey to tell him what had happened. Rhodey would be here in an instant. After his injury, he'd been pulled from active combat to train cadets and consult with suppliers. It wouldn't be as hard for him to come and visit as it used to be. Rhodey would come and let Tony talk it out and help him get things for the kid. He was Tony's best friend and if Tony needed him, he'd come.

But Tony couldn't. He wanted to _so badly _, but Rhodey _hated_ Ty.__

Like, _really hated_ Ty.

He’d warned Tony a thousand times that Ty was bad news, and he’d been right. Fuck, he had been so right. And now all Tony could see was Rhodey's disappointed face when he realised how stupid Tony had been.

He felt so ashamed, and he just couldn't deal with it now.

Tony took a breath and pushed back the emotions threatening to overwhelm him, focusing on reaching the pudding. He stretched further and managed to snag the corner of the pudding pack he wanted.

Yes! Finally!

As he pulled it down, he heard a sudden _snick, clunk _,__ and the chiller shelf collapsed, sending its contents toppling to the floor. Several of the packets hit the ground hard and pudding burst out of the top and rained around him in a horrible sticky chocolatey mess. 

It was the final straw. He was angry and tired and pregnant, he wasn't allowed to drink—though god had he wanted to since he'd realised what a mess he was in—and all he wanted was to get pudding and go hide in his new, musty-smelling old bed. A wave of frustration filled him.

Any other day he could have handled this, laughed it off. If he wasn't so full of hormones he knew he wouldn't be like this, making a scene. But as he looked at the mess on the floor and at the people who had turned at the noise, he could feel it all bubbling over. Tears pricked his eyes.

He bent down and started picking up the packets, trying to work out what he was meant to do with the sticky smears. He was on the verge of deciding to use his own shirt when a hand appeared in front of him.

Tony looked up. The man in front of him, an alpha by the scent, smiled at him kindly.

"Hi, I'm Steve. Looks like you could use some help?"

Tony wanted to say no, he could take care of himself and he didn’t need pity from strangers, but the relief at someone taking over for even just a second was too alluring. He reached out and grasped Steve's hand, letting him pull him to his feet.

Steve smiled at him, bright and warm. "I'm sure someone can deal with this. Here you go.”

Tony watched as Steve reached up to grab an undamaged box of pudding from the next shelf over and placed it in Tony's basket.

The man was attractive. Like seriously hot. And so obviously an alpha at a glance—tall, muscled, strong. And the fact that he could easily reach the snacks Tony had been craving didn't hurt at all.

Steve waved over his shoulder and an employee appeared suddenly behind him.

"I've had a bit of a mishap,” Steve said, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. “Sorry, Logan.”

The man huffed and glared at Steve but dragged a wet floor sign next to the spill and wandered off to get a mop.

Steve looked back at Tony. "Anything else on your list that's on the high shelf?"

Tony opened his mouth to thank him and send him on his way, then remembered the last item on his list was the prenatal vitamins and he didn’t know where they were kept. He nodded, "Ah, maybe. I need vitamins for—" he gestured to his bump, just visible through his t-shirt.

Steve’s eyes followed the motion, and Tony expected that to be it, no more helpful alpha, but he just smiled. "No problem.”

He picked up Tony's basket for him and gestured for him to follow, which Tony did, albeit with some bemusement.

He looked on as Steve walked around the store until he hit the right section. "Which brand?"

Which brand was almost laughable since there were only two in the small store, but Tony pointed and Steve hummed in acknowledgement while he plucked the bottle of capsules from the shelf and put it in Tony's basket.

Tony took the basket from him, suddenly feeling awkward. This was...new and he wasn’t really sure what he should do.

"Well, thanks for the whole—" he waved his hand to encompass both the manly shelf reaching and taking the blame for the pudding disaster. "I should let you get back to whatever you were doing.”

“Picking out soap. Super exciting.”

Tony smiled. “Big strong alpha like you, bet you were struggling to choose between...oh I know—different versions of sandalwood?”

Steve snorted. “I usually buy coconut, I’ll have you know.”

“What a rebel.”

“Well, not everyone can take out the whole chilled section in one go.”

“Some of us are just special, I guess.”

Steve smiled again and gestured to the vitamins in the basket. “So, uh… how far along are you?”

It took Tony a moment to realise what he was asking. He’d been distracted by someone actually talking to him instead of giving him the look of judgement. “Oh! I’m 16 weeks.”

“Congratulations,” Steve said, smile warm and open.

“Thanks.” Tony didn’t know why, but he suddenly wanted to share his news with someone. “Uh, I actually just found out today that it’s twins.”

Steve’s face lit up just like it always did in omega rom-coms. “Oh wow, twins! That’s great! You must be excited.”

And for the first time Tony kind of was.

He ended up walking around the supermarket chatting with Steve, helping him pick out body wash (they picked some sort of mint that left Tony in a bit of a haze as he imagined it on Steve), and a few other things before they headed to the till.

It turned out Steve was an avid baseball fan, and he was hilariously outraged when Tony admitted he didn’t know who half his favourite players were. He was also appropriately sympathetic when Tony took a moment to stand in the middle of an aisle and just stare longingly at the coffee he couldn’t drink in his current state.

They parted ways after they’d paid (Steve asked after the cashier’s daughter Cassie, and Tony laughed internally at the ‘know everybody in town’ stereotype) and for a minute Steve hesitated, as if he wanted to say something. But the moment seemed to pass, and he just shook Tony’s hand and wished him luck with the babies. As he walked away, Tony sighed and hugged his groceries close.

That handshake was probably the most action he was going to get from a sweet, funny alpha ever again.

 

* * *

 

The groceries were a lot heavier than he'd anticipated. Or rather they were heavier after a few blocks when his arms got tired. He'd thought the walk would be good, fresh air to clear his head, but his shoulders were starting to ache with the strain of the bags.

The clouds had started to darken overhead. Tony sighed. He needed to put the food down and rest his arms a minute. Getting caught in the rain seemed like a fitting end to his day.

He moved to the side of the path and put the bags down, stretching his arms up to relieve some of the stiffness. As he touched his fingers together he looked up and a drop of rain hit him on the forehead. The drop must have set a popular trend because no sooner had Tony processed what it meant than it was followed by hundreds of its friends as the heavens opened up.

He looked down at the paper bags on the pavement, where puddles of water were quickly forming. They wouldn't last 5 minutes, and he was only halfway home.

"Oh, you have got to be fucking kidding me,” he growled. He dragged his palms roughly over his face for a moment and sighed again. He was just bending down to get his things when a voice behind him made him turn.

"Oh hey, fancy seeing you here,” Supermarket Steve said with a grin. He'd obviously looked at the forecast before he'd gone shopping because he was dry beneath a faded blue umbrella.

"Uh yeah, hi,” Tony said, a weird, excited fluttering in his belly battling with confusion.

Steve looked down at his bags. “Um, your groceries are getting kind of damp.”

Tony snorted. "Yeah, they were heavier than expected. I should've called for a taxi.”

Steve nodded. "Probably. Though Mr Hogan is the only one in town so he’s not always available. Did you want some help carrying those back to your place? You can share my umbrella if you want.”

God he was cute. Tony went to say yes, but then a sudden thought hit him. Cute alphas didn’t appear out of nowhere to help ruined omegas. That was a widely accepted fact.

Which meant there was more to this. Steve wanted something or wanted Tony for something or...

"Oh wow, nearly had me fooled there.”

Steve frowned. "Sorry?"

"Let me guess, my dad sent you to keep an eye on me. I hope he's at least paying you well.”

"What? No, I'm not working for anyone, who's your—"

"No? Well then, how did you just turn up here after the store? Did you just—" a worse thought popped into his head. "Oh, I bet you're from the tabloids! Just hoping you can get the story and find out where I live so you can lie in wait?!” That would make sense. Ruined or not they'd still think he'd make great gossip. "You leave me alone!"

Steve's face looked genuinely shocked, which almost made Tony hesitate. But no, he needed to get out of here before he was plastered all over the Internet with his baby bump.

Tony grabbed his bags, hugging them to his chest to stop them breaking apart and started off at a quick pace. He'd walk a block or so and if Steve kept following him, he could call the police.

He could feel the wet paper starting to stick to his shirt.

"Hey, wait!"

Tony kept walking determinedly, but Steve caught up easily, with his stupid long, muscled legs, darting in front of him.

"Woah, whoa, come on, let me help! I promise I'm not a reporter or working for your dad, whoever he is. I'm an artist. I do freelance work for an advertising company—" he pulled his wallet out and showed Tony his work ID. In the slot below it, Tony could also see a volunteer pass for a gallery he knew was in town; it had been one of the key attractions when he’d googled his new home. Which meant that Steve was probably telling the truth. "Your dad would really pay someone to follow you?"

Steve sounded slightly horrified at the thought.

Tony didn't really feel up to answering that, so carried on. "Well, if you're not following me, then what are you doing here?"

"I live ‘round here. Honest, my place is a few minutes that way.” He pointed down the other street of the intersection. "I was heading home and I saw you and thought maybe you could use an umbrella and a bit of muscle.”

Steve flexed his arm exaggeratedly, which had the intended effect of startling a laugh out of Tony.

"Oh god. Sense of humour like that, of course you live round here." Tony covered his face with his hands, feeling it heat. "And I just yelled at you in the middle of the street.”

Seeming to realise he wasn't in trouble anymore, Steve grinned. "That's ok, can't be too careful. Now, can I get you under the umbrella so you don't get fully soaked and walk you home?"

Tony nodded sheepishly and let Steve take the bags when he reached for them.

Steve handed him the umbrella. "You can be in charge of keeping us dry.”

Tony rolled his eyes. "I'm glad you trust me with such an honour.”

“Well, I figure you could take off with it and leave me in the rain, but then you'd have to leave the pudding. I think I'm safe.”

Tony took the umbrella. He held it up so Steve could duck underneath and then snorted when Steve had to stay crouched to fit under it.

"Um—maybe it would be better if you held it?"

"No, no, you're doing a great job,” Steve said with a smirk. "Let's go while walking will only cause minor damage to my spine huh?"

Tony rolled his eyes. "Alphas are such drama queens.”

"Hey now—" Steve objected. But as Tony started walking he followed dutifully, his pace matching Tony's.

 

* * *

 

“You’re living at the old Carbonell house?”

Tony turned to look at Steve as he opened the gate. “Huh?”

“The old Carbonell place. It’s what everyone still calls it since no one’s lived there since they both passed away years ago. It was empty when I was a kid, but I think my Ma knew them and their daughter.”

Tony swallowed. His mom had died when he was still quite young, and he didn’t know much about her. His father never spoke of her and any information he’d gotten over the years had always been from well-meaning older omegas at benefits or from his old butler Jarvis.

“Yes, I own it now.”

“Own it? But you—” Understanding dawned on Steve’s face. “You must be a relative.”

Tony nodded. “Grandson. Mom left it for me.”

He opened the gate and stepped aside to let Steve through with the groceries and suddenly felt self-conscious. The house was a run-down mess. Whatever upkeep Howard had paid for over the years meant the garden wasn’t a jungle, but it clearly hadn’t been touched in a while. The house desperately needed a paint job. An omega with a messy house wasn't exactly appealing.

He realised with a bit of a jolt that he actually cared. It was an odd feeling, given that in the past, such domestic tasks would never have crossed his mind. But it was different now. Before, when people saw him, he was the rich, perhaps spoilt, omega heir who’d been to college. Anyone who even asked how he was going to cook for his alpha would’ve been laughed at and dismissed. Now, he was a pregnant omega, and that’s all anyone would ever see. So, when they saw a poorly kept house, or badly laundered clothes, that’s all he’d be judged on. He’d be the poor excuse for an omega who lived at number ten and who couldn’t even bake a pie. It felt stupid, but no one liked to look inadequate no matter how unfair and ridiculous it seemed.

He climbed the porch steps and unlocked the door. “Kitchen is at the end of the hall.”

Steve stepped inside, and Tony winced as he walked past the yellowed wallpaper.

Closing the door behind him, he joined Steve, who placed the bags on the counter.

“Thanks so much,” Tony told him honestly. “Really, I don’t know what I would’ve done if you hadn’t come along.”

Steve shook his head. “I’m sure you would've handled it; you seem pretty capable. But you’re welcome, I’m glad I could help.” He looked around the room. “I see you’ve gone for a minimalist look.”

That startled a laugh out of Tony. “Yeah, I guess. I admit, I’ve never been one for decorating, and I’ve never had to set up a house before. I wouldn’t know where to begin.”

Steve looked thoughtful. “It can be hard to settle when you’re living in a place with no personal touch. I know I struggled when I left Ma’s and went to study in New York. Bare walls and scratchy sheets made me homesick something awful.”

Tony realised there was truth to that. As he looked around the room he found himself missing the familiarity of the manor, even if it hadn’t been exactly homey.

Steve cleared his throat. “If you want, I’ve got a truck. I’d be happy to help you go pick up some furniture, maybe some linens.”

Tony stared. “Oh, I wouldn’t dream of making you—”

Steve put a hand up to stop him. “You’re not making me do anything, I’m offering. And you’d better get used to it pretty quick. Once everyone hears you’ve moved in, you’ll be getting no end of offers.”

The last thing he wanted was lots of people coming around and gawking. An omega with two kids who couldn’t even keep a house. What a catch. “No, really, that’s ok. I can take care of myself.”

“It’s no trouble.”

“No, really. I appreciate all your help, but I’m sure you’ve got places to be.” Tony walked to the front door and opened it. He could already tell Steve would be too well mannered to ignore the cue.

Sure enough, he heard footsteps behind him and Steve stepped past him to exit.

“It was nice meeting you, Tony.”

Tony handed him the blue umbrella. “You too. Thanks again.”

Steve gave him a small smile before opening his umbrella and heading out into the now soft patter of rain.

Tony closed the door and watched him walk down the street through the sitting room window. Once he was out of sight, Tony groaned, throwing himself (gently) onto the couch.

The dust billowed off the old couch and Tony coughed.

So gross. He needed some new stuff.

 

* * *

 

The next morning, Tony was about to pour himself some cereal and settle in to wait for the guy to turn up to install his Wi-Fi, when there was a knock at the door.

When he opened the door, he came face to face with an omega with wavy dark hair and glasses.

“Hey, Tony, right?” The woman said with a smile. She was carrying a covered tray.

“Ahhh, are you here to install my Wi-Fi?”

She snorted. “No, I’m Darcy. I run the BnB down the road?” She indicated to the right with her head while she spoke, almost dislodging her glasses.

“Oh, of course.” He was pretty sure he’d seen a sign for that when they’d driven in. “Um, hi?”

“Hi,” she echoed teasingly. “Anyway, Steve called me and said you could probably use a home-cooked meal and maybe a bit of help with cleaning the house.”

Tony felt his cheeks heat. “Steve said?”

Darcy nodded. “Yeah, he said you were new to town and since the house had been empty so long you might need a hand. Are you all alone here?”

Geeze. He was probably going to have to start getting used to that question.

“Yup. Just me. No one else. Flying solo.” God, he was the most awkward human being.

“I hear you—single life, right? I mean, I love Ian, don’t get me wrong, but there are times when I miss just doing my own thing and being on the prowl.”

That startled a laugh out of Tony. He patted his belly a little bitterly. “Oh yeah; I have clearly lived the single life to its fullest.”

Darcy smile didn’t turn awkward; she just chuckled. “And because of that, Steve has offered my services. He can be pretty insistent when he cares about something.”

Before Tony could say anything about _that _, she stepped forward. “You got a kitchen in there or what?”__

 

 

* * *

 

It took most of the day but by dinnertime, Darcy had transformed his house from a dusty ruin to a liveable space.

Once you removed the dust and grime, it wasn’t nearly as bad as it had first seemed.

Darcy had tutted at him about the furniture (“if this is your grandparents’ furniture, god knows what bugs it’s full of!”) and once she’d wrestled Tony’s card from him, she’d had Ian go out and buy a replacement mattress while she cleaned what turned out to be a surprisingly nice bed frame.

Ian had returned with a new mattress and spare bedding from the BnB and then Darcy had put him to work. “It’s our trade off,” she’d said to Tony, who was slightly gobsmacked watching an omega boss around an alpha with such ease. None of the couples he’d grown up around had been like this. An omega acting like this would have been a target for scorn and ridicule. “I hate gardening with a passion, but I don’t mind cleaning, so we have our preferred jobs. If I hated cleaning, he’d be doing all this while I sipped a cocktail.”

Ian had laughed good-naturedly and set to work weeding and mowing while Tony ate the brunch she’d brought over.

When they were done, Tony had a clean house, a tidy yard, and enough food to see him for three days.

Maybe he owed Steve a thank you.

 

* * *

 

It was two days later by the time his Wi-Fi was installed and by that time Tony was going stir crazy.

Being cooped up with his hands idle had never been his thing. How he longed to _build something _.__

No matter. He couldn’t do that here; he didn’t have the supplies. He’d have to accept that he didn’t get to be a mechanical engineer anymore. He just got to be an omega.

A pregnant omega.

He didn’t really want to deal with people but he decided it was time to get out of the house when he found himself trying to rewire the lighting without gloves. Or tools.

Risking his health was a lot easier when he wasn’t carrying two blobs.

What did pregnant omegas even do all day?

Eventually he pulled on shoes and wandered into town, taking his time and trying to drag out his walk as long as possible.

The main street of town had clearly been home to many different businesses over time. There were several that had obviously been closed for years, still with their original names on their facades, the awnings weather-faded.

As he wandered up the block, his eye caught on a shop with its 1950s-style front declaring it Romanov’s Haberdashery.

Maybe he could take up crochet or something.

He had a sudden image of himself as the stereotypical spinster omega, knitting in sweatpants with curlers in his hair and snorted. All he needed now was too many cats.

On a whim, he wandered into the store and looked at the display of hundreds of colourful buttons.

“Can I help you?”

Tony turned to see a red-haired woman dressed in an open plaid shirt, jeans and boots, looking him over curiously.

“Oh no, I was just looking, really I should go.”

“No, stay.” She stepped back behind her counter, pushed a chair out from behind it and gestured for him to sit. “I don't think I’ve seen you before.”

Tony dutifully sat down. She seemed like someone you obeyed. “No, I’m new to town, though my family on my mother’s side is from here.”

“Ah, you must be Tony, the one Steve was talking about.”

Tony stared at her, slightly horrified. “Did Steve tell everyone I’m here??”

Natasha chuckled. “I’m sure he didn’t, but I’m bonded to his best friend, so naturally I’m kept up to date.”

Tony sniffed, somewhat placated. “So, does Steve’s best friend’s bond mate have a name?”

She raised an eyebrow. “Natasha Romanov.”

She pushed a cup of tea his way and he noticed she had poured for two before he arrived. “Were you expecting someone?”

She shook her head. “No one in particular.”

“Sure, that’s totally normal.” He was pretty sure this alpha could see into his soul. He looked around the room and hummed.

“Yes?”

“I’m sorry, this shop just doesn’t seem like your vibe? Not that it’s not a lovely shop,” he was quick to add.

She grinned. “Oh, it’s not. This was my babushka’s shop and when she passed, well, I couldn’t let it close. So, I moved here, ran the store part time while I studied law. Then I met Bucky and I passed the bar so now I practice and he runs the store during the week.”

Tony whistled. “That’s impressive.” He was so jealous. She had studied and been allowed to work in her field. Alphas were so lucky. “Do you get a lot of business?”

“There’s a few quilting clubs in the area that regularly buy things from us. I own the store, so we don’t have to pay much for upkeep, and we make enough to keep it open, for my babushka’s memory. Bucky also works part time in the city, so he commutes a couple of times a week and I watch the store if I’m not stuck working on a case.”

“Your omega works?” Tony asked curious. He had met quite a few omegas in his social circuit who went to school and got a basic undergrad—omegas from rich parents who wanted their offspring to seem more attractive for bonding—but he hadn’t met any who actually worked.

Natasha smirked. “Oh, Bucky’s an alpha.”

Tony’s eyebrows rose as he took that in. Alpha/alpha pairings weren’t prohibited, but they were rare and frowned upon. It made no sense, people would say, how could an alpha not want to jump an omega the first chance they got? He’d been to parties though and different lifestyles were pretty common among celebrities, so this wasn’t the first couple he’d come across. He was more surprised they had chosen to live in a small town where the culture was usually so old school.

Natasha’s smirk widened. “Is that a problem?”

He was pretty sure this was how she dealt with any side-eying. He doubted many people wanted to cross this alpha.

He was quick to reassure. “No, no, sorry. I was just a little shocked. I wasn’t expecting a lot of modern thinking in this place, to be honest.”

Natasha tilted her head, her smile relaxing into something kinder. “You’d be surprised.”

Tony opened his mouth to answer, but before he could, he heard a cheery voice behind him.  
“Tasha, I—oh, hey Tony!”

Tony turned to see Supermarket Steve standing in the doorway, a friendly grin on his face.

Tony was suddenly aware that he was wearing an old and shabby t-shirt and jeans. Could he _be _any less prepared to see an out-of-his-league alpha right now? _Alright brain, that was clearly enough _Friends_ for now. ___

___“Uh, hi,” Tony managed, feeling awkward._ _ _

 

Steve didn’t seem to mind, stepping in to join them in the shop. “I see you met Natasha.”

Tony nodded. “Yeah, she had a tea cup waiting for me so I’m pretty sure she’s a witch, but she seems nice.”

The last was directed towards Natasha herself, who looked delighted.

Steve laughed. “Get used to it. Trust me, she knows your secrets before you do.”

_Terrifying _, Tony’s brain reiterated.__

“You here for your mom’s order?” Natasha asked, heading towards the backroom.

Steve nodded, and Natasha ducked behind the curtain.

Steve looked at Tony. “How’s the new place?”

“Not too bad once your cleaning fairies got done with it,” Tony said raising one brow, and Steve got a faint flush across his cheekbones.

“I just thought—well I know it’s tough moving into a new place, and Darcy was happy to help once I explained your house had been left to its own devices for a few years.”

Tony waved a hand. “It’s fine, they were nice.”

Steve nodded, shoulders relaxing. “I was actually going to swing by your place and offer my truck. Darcy mentioned some of your furniture was a bit old and that you were thinking of replacing it?”

_You already offered _, Tony thought, _and I was a jerk and kicked you out. What is your deal?___

“Oh, I couldn't ask you to—”

“—it’s really no trouble…”

“Here’s your mom’s order, Steve,” Natasha said, coming back holding a brown paper bundle. “Tony, Darcy said your couch is basically made of mothballs, take Steve up on the truck.”

Tony puffed out his chest, indignant. “Excuse you, I—”

“Seriously dude, gross couch ain’t worth your pride.”

He deflated. Sitting on that couch watching Netflix on his laptop had been pretty depressing after growing up in a mansion.

“Fine,” he allowed, trying to seem reluctant. It wouldn't do to rely on people; people let you down. But a one-off favour probably wouldn’t be too bad.

“Great!” Steve grinned, and Tony felt a little light-headed. “You busy now? We could pick up some of the old stuff, get rid of it?”

Tony nodded his head. “I’m free now.”

“Great,” Steve said again. He stepped forward to grab the package from Natasha. “My truck’s outside.”

Steve stepped out, with a ‘bye’ to Natasha, and Tony got up to follow.

“Have a nice time, Tony,” Natasha said, her voice a little too knowing. Tony willed himself not to react—this town clearly gossiped, and the last thing he needed was a rumour that he was into the resident bachelor alpha. Without looking at her, he muttered a goodbye and ducked out.

 

* * *

 

They ended up at a department store a few towns over. It was much bigger than Tony had expected, and he suddenly felt overwhelmed with choice.

“I’ve never really done this,” Tony admitted awkwardly to Steve. As if he could seem less like a good omega if he tried.

Steve shrugged. “That’s ok, we’ve got time. I bought stuff for my place when I moved back, basic but I managed it. If I can, I’m sure you can handle it.”

Tony breathed out. “Ok, what do we need?”

“Well, you’re starting from scratch at the house so you’ll need more than just one trip, but for starters new couch, dining table and chairs, some plates and cutlery, fridge, washing machine…” Steve looked a little overwhelmed for a minute. “Tony, are you going to have enough for all this?”

Tony nodded. He’d checked the account the night before and his dad had been more than generous. Never let it be said that Howard Stark was cheap. “I’ll be fine.”

Steve looked relieved. “Ok, well how about we take a look at a couch first, huh?”

 

* * *

 

The shopping trip was going pretty well, Tony thought.

They'd been focused and stalwart and—

Ok so maybe Steve had gotten distracted by a baseball game on one of the TVs and Tony had been happy to sit on a couch and mock his team for longer than they should've, but Tony had enjoyed watching Steve try to remain polite and kind in the face of Tony's snarky commentary.

"And I mean look at that guy; he's just standing there. Everyone else has been running around the bases, making an effort, but that guy is a bum.”

“Toooony," Steve groaned, sounding horrified. "That's the pitcher. That's his _job! _”__

"Is it? Well, I mean the sport makes no sense, you can't expect me to remember everything,” Tony said loftily. "And what's with the uniform it's—URK!" Tony spluttered as he was suddenly but gently dragged off the arm of the couch as Steve put him in a light headlock and scrubbed his head with his knuckles.

"Look here, Buster, I know what you're playing at, but no one slams my team, you hear me?" Steve tried to sound stern but the gleam in his eye and quirk at the side of his mouth gave him away, and Tony laughed.

"I don't know what you're talking about, I'm just trying to say that—" he was interrupted by a store employee stopping in front of the couch and looking sternly at Steve.

"Sir, if you and your omega can't behave appropriately in the store we'll need to ask you to leave.”

Tony saw the flush appear at the words 'your omega' and decided to cut off whatever rambled explanation Steve would try to give at the pass. He sat up and cleared his throat. "We'll keep it down,” he told the guy, making eye contact until he couldn't be ignored. The employee eventually nodded and walked away and Tony huffed. “Alphas."

Steve was quiet but stood up and offered a hand. “Well, we should probably actually do some shopping, to be fair.”

Tony sighed but gripped Steve as he was pulled up. "I like this couch. It's comfy.”

Steve chuckled. "You haven't tried any others yet.”

Tony looked at the pleasant grey L-shaped couch and raised his chin. "I like it, I want it, let's get it.”

“This'll be a quick process if you tackle all of this that way.”

“Onward!" Tony pointed. "I need a table at which to dine like a medieval lord.”

He’d been sceptical about needing a dining room set at all but then Steve had reminded him that soon there would be three people in his house, and eventually they’d need a table to eat at. Tony had let that image fill his head for a moment, before nodding and picking a rectangular faded wood table with a white frame and matching chairs that proclaimed itself ‘farmhouse chic’ on the label.

They also picked up a coffee table, new smart TV, a couple of table lamps and dishes, mugs, glasses and cutlery so that Tony could eat off something other than the plates he still hadn’t returned to Darcy.

Thanks to Steve’s pick up, they were able to take most of it with them with Tony paying the store extra to deliver the rest by the evening.

Once they returned to the house, Tony refused to let Steve lift everything by himself.

Steve in return refused to let Tony lift anything heavier than the lamp and so gave in and called Ian over from the BnB to help. Darcy arrived a little later with several dishes of food.

They ate their food off Tony new plates, kneeling at the coffee table, chatting and laughing until early evening when a knock at the door brought the arrival of Tony’s other furniture. Tony hooked up the TV while the alphas set up the dining set and Darcy perched on the couch.

Once all the work was done, they settled on the couch and watched a few episodes of _Arrested Development _.__

_This was fun _, Tony thought as he waved everyone out the door. Fun to sit around and chat and joke, have his mind taken off his predicament. Darcy had offered to take him shopping later in the week for more essentials since she had decorated the BnB and knew all the best shops. Tony had gratefully accepted.__

He curled up in bed that night, feeling oddly satisfied, like he’d achieved something. He liked the feeling.

 

* * *

 

“Hey Tony, what are you up to?”

Tony looked up from his laptop to see Steve standing by his booth.

He’d gone for a walk that morning, ending up at Sam’s Diner by the lake. It was a pleasant eatery with a nice friendly atmosphere and a pretty view of the water. He’d ordered tea (it was starting to grow on him, but he still really missed coffee) and a piece of cake.

“Hey.” His smile was genuine, the warm feeling in his stomach prompting him to ask, “You wanna sit?”

Steve grinned, slipping into the booth across from him. “So, what are you up to?”

Tony looked haughty for a moment. “Oh, you know, catching up on stocks, opening an account in the Caymans. The usual...”

At Steve’s eyebrow raise, Tony’s look slipped into a sheepish grin. “I’m looking at omega pregnancy blogs. They’re…pretty funny.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, everyone knows how to raise a pup best, what to eat et cetera.”

“So, what’s the funny part?”

Tony smirked. “The funny part is commenting in the forums with something stupid and watching the carnage. Bad parenting facts are blood in the water.”

Steve looked mildly horrified but clearly still amused. “What did you do?”

“Left a comment saying I feed my pups upside down because it makes them grow taller.”

Steve cracked up. “You didn’t?!”

Tony grinned wickedly. “Oh yes. Most people took it as a joke but a couple of them think it’s legit, and they are unloading some vitriol.”

“Is there any useful stuff?”

“I don’t know how useful people threatening to call child services on me is…”

Steve snorted. “No, the other stuff.”

Tony nodded. “Oh sure, loads of good advice, forums for questions. They’re good sites, they just have a few extreme members is all. Who are really fun to rile up.”

Steve smiled. “I’m starting to think you’re more trouble than I first imagined.”

Tony laughed delightedly. “You’d better believe it.”

“So, I’ve been thinking about your house.”

Tony raised an eyebrow. “My house?”

“It’s a really nice place. It just hasn’t had a lot of TLC in a while. Are you thinking about doing it up?”

Tony blinked. “I don’t know. I mean, I’ve thought about the fact that parts of it are old and gross but that’s as far as I’d gotten.”

Steve nodded and pulled out a notebook. Tony’s eyes widened.

“It doesn’t need much. I could probably help you with a lot of it. Place needs painting, re-wallpapering, the carpets are a bit old so it might be worth seeing what’s underneath it. A lot of old houses like yours have hardwood underneath so we could always polish it up or get new carpets. Could probably paint the kitchen cabinets. I haven’t seen the upstairs, but I’m sure we can fix anything up there.”

Tony had a sudden worrying thought that would explain all this helpful alpha business.

“Are you a real estate agent or something?”

Steve looked up from his notepad, confused. “Huh?”

Tony gestured. “Like do you befriend new people and scope out their place so you can persuade them to flip it?”

Steve stared. “Are you always this suspicious of people?”

Tony stared back. “When you’re in my position, it pays not to trust everyone you meet.”

Steve broke eye contact first and snorted. “No, Tony, I’m not in real estate. I am, as I told you, a freelance graphic designer. But we like to be neighbourly, so if I can help you out I want to. It’d be nice if we could be friends.”

Tony closed his eyes for a minute. This was a bad idea. Don’t let the gorgeous alpha hang around your house in painting gear.

But he was weak and his house was gross.

“That would actually be great.”

Steve’s smile spread across his face. “When do you want to start?”

 

* * *

 

And so started the great renovation of 2018. Steve started coming by a couple of times a week to help do up the house. He’d spend an hour or two stripping old wallpaper, painting kitchen cabinets or cleaning out Tony’s garden shed.

Tony was forced to learn to cook in order to feed Steve, because even though he’d always hated the ‘traditional omega arts’ he couldn’t in good conscience let Steve do all this work without at least feeding him when he was done.

Steve was good natured about his attempts, though he didn’t pull punches when he teased Tony about his mistakes.

Admittedly, it’s pretty hard to keep a straight face when someone accidentally uses ground chilli instead of black pepper. Tony didn't think he’d ever seen an alpha cry before.

Tony would also help with the jobs that didn’t require heavy lifting or standing on a ladder. The latter rule had come into being when Tony had almost fallen off from a wave of vertigo. Darn pups stealing all his healthy blood flow!

He’d spent several sessions helping Steve to paint the living room and upstairs rooms while he pumped ACDC from his laptop, trying to keep himself in check when Steve turned up in old tight jeans and t-shirts to work in, or getting into a paint flicking fight when Steve accidentally splashed him.

Tony had also schooled Steve on several of the jobs—he had a doctorate in mechanical engineering; he knew his way around tools.

Darcy took him on the promised shopping trip not long into the renovation, which turned out to be expensive but useful.

His house started to actually feel like his new home, and while he didn’t care for interior design, he was pleased to accept Darcy’s help with that too. Framed posters for his walls, new bedding, throws, cushions, rugs once the carpet was ripped out and the living room floor sanded and polished.

It made his house feel lived in and warm.

And having Darcy around for decaf coffee once a week and watching TV with Steve after dinner helped keep the listlessness and feelings of hopelessness at bay.

When he was around the others he’d feel better, less alone and more like himself. But when he was alone, it was easy to slump, to think about the future he didn’t get to have.

He thought about the babies, and sometimes he’d talk to them and wonder what they’d be like, but it was hard not to also think about what his life would be if he’d never gotten pregnant.

He suspected he might have a bit of antenatal depression (at least that’s what the omega blogs said) but it was hard to know.

Regardless, the choice was made for him. But he still didn’t know if he wanted to be a parent.

And it was hard not to think things would’ve been better if this whole thing had never happened.

 

* * *

 

In his head Tony would always call it The Incident.

At 21 weeks, the beginning of his third month in Shield, Tony woke in the middle of the night, throat parched. He thought about ignoring it and trying to go back to sleep, but his throat ached and he rolled over to the edge of the bed to get up.

It was dark, and as he moved towards the door to the ensuite, he caught his foot on the corner of his bedframe.

He fell forward, flinging his arms out to try and grab something. But there was nothing to catch himself with and he fell flat on his stomach on the floor.

Hard.

Tony gasped as he hit, pain spreading across his stomach and his knees and palms.

He quickly rolled onto his back, wrapping an arm around his stomach. Oh god.

He started to feel dizzy and realised he was hyperventilating. He needed to calm down.

He managed to pull himself together. Breathing slow and deep, he leaned over to the nightstand to scrabble for his phone. He swiped at the screen and pulled up the recent tab on his contacts.

The phone picked up with a grumbling, “Hello?”

"Hey, it’s Tony. Sorry to wake you. I just—I need—” He hoped he sounded calm and rational but he wasn’t sure he pulled it off, panic rising in his chest.

Steve was immediately alert. “It’s ok, what do you need?”

"I need your help.”

 

* * *

 

By the time they arrived outside the clinic, the lights were already on and Doctor Banner was standing in the foyer.

Tony felt guilty, realising the man was wearing his white coat over his pyjamas and sporting bedhead.

Steve came around to the passenger side of the truck, helping Tony out and leading him inside.

It took a few minutes to power up the equipment, and during the wait the pain turned achy. Tony thought bleakly for a moment that maybe whatever had happened had already happened, and there was nothing to be done.

Given he hadn’t chosen or wanted this, the idea that the twins might be gone was more painful than he’d thought it would be.

It didn’t seem fair that he didn’t get to choose to have them or choose to keep them.

His eyes burned.

He felt a hand on his shoulder and he looked up to meet the doctor’s eyes. “Ok, Mr Stark, how about we take a look, huh?”

“Tony,” he said, voice coming out a hoarse whisper.

“Tony,” the doctor agreed. He pointed to himself. “And I’m Bruce, ok? Now lie back, and we’ll see how these guys are doing.”

The exam and ultrasound only took a few minutes, the cool gel distracting him from his panic.

But when it was finished, Bruce smiled. "Both pups are absolutely fine. Both heartbeats are strong and there’s nothing on the ultrasound that shouldn’t be. I know these sorts of things can be scary, especially for first timers, but there should be no problem.”

The relief spread through Tony like a balm and he felt the emotion swelling in his chest. “Thanks Doc, I—thanks.”

The doctor waved a hand. “It’s no trouble. Better safe than sorry. If you do get any symptoms like spotting or bleeding, definitely come back, but they’re pretty safe in there really, especially during the early months so I don’t think you’ll have any problems.”

Tony felt a bit embarrassed. He’d read all the pregnancy books, and he knew that pregnant bellies were hardier than most people thought. It had just seemed so much scarier when he was alone in his house at 2am.

He thanked the doctor again and then headed back out to the waiting room.

Steve stood as he approached, "Everything ok?"

He looked really worried, and Tony felt bad for dragging him out of bed. “Yeah, turns out it’s nothing to worry about. God, I feel bad for getting you up to drive me over.”

His first thought had been Steve. He hadn't even considered anything else. He’d just wanted Steve there, in case the worst had happened.

Steve’s shoulders dropped in relief and he shook his head. "Don't apologise. Better to be safe than sorry.”

Wasn’t that just the mantra for expecting omegas?

They headed for the car and climbed in. Tony waited until Steve was belted in before speaking again.

“Well, thanks at least.” Tony hugged his arms around himself. “I wasn’t sure if I wanted them before but the thought that maybe I’d…I’d—” his throat tightened before he could get the rest of the sentence out.

How was he going to look at them when they came, knowing he hadn’t wanted them?

Still looking at the road, Steve reached a hand out to squeeze his shoulder. “You’re ok, Tony. It’s ok to be unsure or to not want something when your circumstances change. Don’t beat yourself up over it. I’m sure you’ll make the most of it either way, and it may turn out better than you think.”

Tony smiled weakly. “Thanks Steve.”

"No problem. You ready to head home?"

Tony was about to agree when his stomach rumbled. He hadn't realised how hungry he actually was in all the panic.

Steve chuckled. “I know an all-night diner we can go to.”

 

* * *

 

Tony was bored.

He’d thought by now he’d be trying to prove himself an engineer. Bringing his ideas to life and showing just how good he was, omega or not.

But that was done now. This was his life, eating yoghurt and watching animal documentaries on Netflix. He’d watched _Blackfish _three times.__

His fingers itched to invent.

It would be hard enough to find a job as an omega without alpha backing. Near impossible to get a position in a highly regarded competitive field even with powerful alpha connections and 'old alphas’ club' handshakes and deals.

But no chance at all of getting anything as a pregnant, alpha-less omega.

Tony could just imagine the kind of response he’d get.

He wished his dad had been more supportive. His dad had never minded that he was an omega. He'd always told him it just meant that he had to work harder, because he was a Stark and he needed to act like one.

That's why it'd hurt so much when he'd reacted badly to the pregnancy. He knew why his dad was upset. He got it. But it didn't make it any easier to say goodbye to the life he'd wanted and be shuffled off away from his family like a dirty secret.

Tony sighed and screwed up the sketch he'd been drawing absentmindedly. What was even the point?

No one would take his designs seriously now.

Tony felt a flutter in his belly that somehow managed to seem despondent and sighed again. "Yeah guys, me too.”

 

* * *

 

Tony's family never really did Christmas. At best, it was a photo op before Christmas Eve for the company and maybe they'd eat together at the table for once before Howard would ruffle Tony’s hair and head back to the office.

So, Tony thought he could be forgiven for forgetting Christmas was a thing people actually did.

His phone started to buzz, and he checked the caller ID before he answered. He saw the flash of Captain America's shield (the result of a friendly argument that Tony won't let Steve forget) and answered without hesitation.

"What's up, Steve?"

"Tony, hey!” Steve always sounded so happy to hear from him, and it really messed with Tony's head. Why couldn’t he sound blasé and unaffected? "I'm just at my Ma's, and I mentioned you and, well, she told me to call and invite you to Christmas if you don't already have plans.”

Tony's brain short circuited a bit.

"We have Christmas at my grandparents' place and there's always way too many leftovers. So, I mean if you want to come you'd be welcome.”

Tony really wanted to take him up on it. It sounded nice, like Christmas did in the movies. And he and Steve could hang out and maybe...

No. No he couldn't do that. Steve was always helping him out and doing him favours and being super-hot, and Steve deserved to have a nice time with his family instead of babysitting the omega he'd adopted because he was too nice not to help people.

"I appreciate the offer Steve, but I—" he wracked his brain. If Steve knew he was sitting at home by himself there was no way he'd let him skip. "I invited a friend from New York to come visit. His family live outside the US so he's flying solo too. But seriously thank your mom for me, ok?"

"Oh, yeah sure, Tony, sounds like you'll have fun.” Steve sounded disappointed, which didn’t make Tony feel any better about lying.

"Sounds like you'll have a nice trip too,” Tony hedged, unsure what to do to get that tone out of Steve voice. It worked, and Steve perked up telling Tony what his family liked to do for Christmas and listening as Tony lied his way through the great time he was going to have with his imaginary friend.

When they hung up, Tony sighed, his hand resting on the bump. "Guess we'd better get used to this, huh guys?”

 

* * *

 

Tony spent Christmas alone, watching movies and sketching designs for a couple of ideas. All in all, not the worst Christmas he'd had.

He'd gotten a few snaps from Steve of his grandparents’ house, his grandparents’ dog, the Christmas dinner. It had all looked great. Tony had neglected to send any back, instead just messaging in reply so he wouldn't have to explain.

In the run up to New Year's, a winter storm developed and made its way quickly north. Tony had never experienced one here before, but it was worsened by lake effect, the snow making it bitterly cold.

Or so the local news had told him. It’s not like he was a meteorologist.

Tony made the cold trip into town on foot and dutifully stocked up on food. The roads were starting to clog with snow, but he made it home before the storm really hit.

He settled in to wait it out, feeling pretty prepared.

That was, until he woke up from his nap a few hours later to find his heater wasn't working. The room was already cold, and he unwillingly unrolled himself from his blanket to investigate. He flicked the switch a few times, but nothing happened. He frowned. Then he realised it had darkened considerably. He moved to switch on the light, but again nothing happened. The hell was going on?

He moved around the house trying a few more things but to no avail. The power had to be out.

He grabbed a torch and pulled on a jacket and shoes before opening the front door and heading out into the snow.

The breaker box was on the side of the house (whose idiot idea was that?!) and as he turned the corner, he groaned and swore.

A snow drift had fallen off the roof and submerged where he knew the box was meant to be.

Wasn't that just his life in a nutshell? He had the skills and experience to solve this problem in a snap, but he hadn’t accounted for life's little slaps in the face.

The slush soaked through his shoes and he was already feeling the cold as he tried to move the snow with his hands. He tired quickly, his back cramping up, unable to bend too far with his bump.

Fuck. He probably didn't even have the equipment to do this safely in the wet even if he could get at it.

God, he was so cold.

As the sky darkened, he walked slowly back into the house trying desperately not to slip on the icy porch.

It was evening, and the middle of one of the worst storms of the season. He was never going to get a repairman or anything out here tonight.

Resigned, and desperately lamenting the lack of hot water for a shower, Tony stripped off his wet gear and changed into dry flannel pants and a loose shirt before crawling into a cold bed with his laptop.

He'd just have to stay here and wait till the morning.

 

* * *

 

Steve drove slowly into Shield, carefully navigating the icy roads.

He was back earlier than intended, but with the storm the hospital had called his Ma and asked if she could work some extra shifts. So, he'd put the snow chains on his truck and they'd made the slow trip back. He'd dropped his Ma outside the hospital with the usual promise to message her and let her know he was home safe.

As he pulled onto Main Street he thought about Tony.

He'd missed him while he'd been away, and he'd been disappointed when Tony couldn't join them. He'd worried that Tony thought he'd been too forward and presumptuous, thinking he didn't have his own plans, but Tony had seemed pleased to see his out-of-town friend and Steve had been glad.

He stopped at the lights and bit his lip. Surely it wouldn't hurt to swing by Tony's? Just to say hi and drop off the leftovers his Ma had told him to give Tony. He didn't want to intrude, but he could be in and out pretty quick. No harm done.

Before he'd even consciously made the decision, he'd turned and was driving towards number 10.

As he pulled up to the house, he frowned. There were no lights on. That was odd.

If it was any other day he'd think maybe Tony and his guest had gone out, but it would be mad to go out in this weather. Not even Sam's had been open when he'd driven past.

He got out of the car and walked up to the house to peek inside. It was dark, and the windows were frosting up.

Maybe they had gone out. But Tony really should have left the heating on in this weather. The house would be freezing when he got back.

He knocked and waited. No answer. He knocked again.

Nothing.

As he gripped his keys, he remembered that he still had Tony’s spare from when Tony had had a doctor’s appointment and Steve was doing the floors. He had meant to give it back, but it had slipped his mind.

Normally he wouldn’t even think of using the key without permission, but he couldn’t shake a weird feeling that something wasn’t right. At the very least, he could just turn the heating on so it would be warm when Tony and his friend got back.

His teeth started to chatter as he dawdled, so he stepped up and unlocked the door.

The inside of the house was almost as cold as outside. It was well insulated, but with no heat source, the cold had crept in and settled.

Steve tried a light switch and frowned when the bulb stayed dark. He tried another two with the same result. The power was out. Maybe Tony and his friend _had _gone somewhere else to escape the cold.__

He walked towards the kitchen to store the leftovers and out the corner of his eye, noticed Tony’s phone on the coffee table. As he turned, he saw Tony’s keys in the bowl on the side-table.

It made no sense for Tony to leave without his phone or keys.

The wrong feeling in his chest picked up. He placed the leftovers on the kitchen bench and headed up the stairs.

He also would've expected Tony's guest to be on the couch since Tony didn't have a spare bed in the other rooms. Where else would they sleep—

Oh. Steve flushed. He paused half way up, his hand gripping the rail. Maybe he'd completely misunderstood 'friend' from New York.

Oh geeze. He ignored the flare of hurt and jealousy in his chest and tried to focus. He didn't want to bother Tony and his...companion, but at the same time the power was out, and the house was freezing and he couldn't shake the bad feeling in his stomach.

Although if this 'friend' was any decent alpha they wouldn't let Tony stay in the house when it was like this. Steve certainly wouldn't.

Well, no need to dwell on the obvious inadequacies of this other alpha; Steve needed to just check in and get out.

He wandered upstairs calling Tony's name. He knocked on the door but got no response.

He pushed the door open, using the torch on his phone to see inside.

Tony was in bed, alone. And the room was too cold.

"Tony?" He leaned over to jostle him gently. Tony was shivering, and as Steve shook him, he mumbled quietly but otherwise made no move to rouse himself. Steve frowned. He touched Tony's forehead and found the skin cold to the touch.

Shit.

Mild hypothermia, or on his way there. Fuck.

Steve took a deep breath and made a plan of action. He squeezed Tony’s shoulder and then headed back downstairs.

He pulled his jacket tight around him to protect him from the heavy snowfall and headed out to the truck. He pulled his emergency kit out from under the cover on the cargo bed and headed back inside.

He pulled out his small generator and turned it in his hands while he decided. He looked at the fireplace in the corner and nodded to himself. He’d gotten Bucky to drop off half a load of firewood for Tony a few weeks back, damn, had he not told Tony? He’d stored it in the garden shed, but it would take him a bit of work to move the snow to get to the wood.

Hmmmm.

He grabbed the generator and the heater and went upstairs. He opened the door, and was relieved to see Tony still shivering as he shone his torch on the bed. If he could still shiver, then his body hadn’t shut down to preserve energy.

He plugged in the heater and Tony’s bedside lamp so he could finally see.

He paused, feeling awkward for a moment, but then he pulled off his boots and removed layers until he was down to his shirt and boxers. Shivering as the cold hit warm skin, he moved to the bed.

He had a sudden thought and gingerly lifted the duvet, breathing a sigh of relief as Tony’s dark blue pyjama pants and loose t-shirt were revealed by the light of the lamp.

At least he didn’t have to feel like a creep.

With nothing else to worry about, he slid into the cold bed and sidled up behind the cold, curled-up omega.

He was conscious of where to put his hands; the last thing he wanted was for Tony to think he’d been taking liberties.

He debated with himself for a moment before looping his arm around Tony’s middle, resting against his ribs, and pulling Tony in so he was tucked up against Steve. Under different circumstances this would be exactly what he wanted. He was careful not to think about how nice it felt to have Tony held to his chest, or the scent of his hair, or anything that might make his body consider this as anything other than a lifesaving exercise.

But god he wanted it. He wanted it to be different, but really, what omega was going to want an alpha who—

Tony mumbled and shifted against him and Steve pulled him tighter, grabbing the duvet and pulling it to better cover them.

No, this was enough. He could be Tony’s friend and that could be enough.

 

* * *

 

Tony awoke feeling warm.

For a minute, he just basked in the knowledge before his memory helpfully reminded him why it wasn’t right.

He opened his eyes, taking in the hum of heater, his lamp and was he wearing a beanie??

He pushed himself up and saw his heater merrily heating the room, plugged into a generator.

Where had that come from?

He pushed back the blankets, pulled on a pair of socks and wrapped his robe around himself before heading downstairs.

The change in temperature was jolting and Tony hissed at the cold. He headed down the hallway and pushed open the door to the living area.

It was light inside, bright orange flickering from the fireplace. Tony frowned; he hadn’t thought the thing was functional. And where had the wood and kindling alongside it come from?

The room was warmer than the stairwell, but clearly the fire had only been lit recently.

On top was his kettle, steam coming out the top of it.

This was almost surreal. Had he actually gotten cold enough to hallucinate? It wouldn’t be the first time his brain had gone a little wonky under stress but he hadn’t expected he’d go Little Match Girl.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a flash of torchlight out near the front lawn.

He pulled on his boots by the door and walked outside to investigate.

“Steve?”

His vision filled with bright light and he blinked hard before Steve pulled the torch out of his mouth.

“Sorry!” The response was clearly automatic, because as soon as Steve took him in he was frowning. “Tony, it’s freezing out! Go back inside.” Like _Tony _was the crazy one here.__

Tony flailed a bit. “What are you doing here? I thought you were at your grandparents for another two days.”

“Ma got called into work so we had to come back early,” Steve said, looking a little bemused. “I came by to drop off leftovers for you.”

Tony quashed the squishy thing in his chest that purred at the idea Steve had been thinking about him while he was away and pressed on. “Why are you out here? What’s with the fire? Why am I wearing a beanie??”

He thought perhaps he’d hit hysterical on that last bit, but really, a beanie? Did he look like a hat hair kind of guy?

“Tony, you need to go back inside,” Steve said putting the shovel down, and walking towards him. “You’re recovering from hypothermia; you shouldn’t be out here.”

Tony was starting to feel the cold in his bones, but he was still confused about this whole thing, and as he looked at Steve, he could see the tips of his ears and nose were red, and his jean cuffs were soaked. He wasn’t even wearing gloves.

“Why are _you _outside?” Also, what, hypothermia?__

“I was trying to get at the breakers. It’s probably just blown fuses but the snow’s packed around it.”

Tony poked him in the chest. “I know, hence why it isn’t fixed. I know my way around fuses. But it’s cold and you're wet. Stop being an idiot and come inside.”

Steve looked back at the fuse box, and then looked back at Tony in his robe and boots and nodded.

“You’re right, come on.” He followed Tony inside, both of them shuddering as they moved into the warmer house.

“Head on through to the living room,” Steve told him. He grimaced at his jeans and looked at Tony sheepishly. “You got some pants I could borrow?”

Tony gestured upstairs. “Third drawer.”

Tony lay out on his couch, watching the play of the fire and feeling the warmth start to sink in again. He heard the footsteps on the stairs and looked up to see Steve dressed in his too-short pyjama pants, ankles poking out the bottom, carrying his jeans and the generator. He draped his jeans over the chair near the fire and then grabbed the kettle from the stove.

He returned a few minutes later with two steaming mugs and handed one to Tony: hot chocolate.

He sipped at it, enjoying the sweetness and warmth before looking at Steve. Steve looked tired.

Then Tony remembered something. “Did you say hypothermic?”

Steve nodded. “When I got here, you weren’t doing too well. So, I warmed up your room, got the fire started, and tomorrow I’ll clear the breaker box”—he gave a little grin—“so that _you _can fix the power. You probably know more than a schmuck like me.”__

Tony snorted. “Probably. I’m lucky you stopped by.”

“I used your key.” Steve looked almost guilty, though Tony couldn’t imagine why. “Sorry, I just—well, I was worried, and I thought I could just check in, and if you were out I’d put the heating on for when you got back, but then—” He breathed out a sharp puff of air. “God, you were shivering like crazy, and all I could think was what if I hadn’t stopped by? In the morning, you might’ve been…” He broke off and swallowed hard.

Tony reached out and gripped his hand. “Thanks, Steve. I feel like you’re always getting me out of messes, you know?”

Steve smiled softly. “It’s ok, you got a lot going on and I’m happy to lend a helping hand, whatever you need.”

Tony could think of one part of him that could really use a hand from a tall, blond and handsome alpha, but he kept that thought to himself.

Steve rolled his head to look at him and frowned a little. “Where’s your friend?”

Tony frowned back. “Friend? What friend? I—”

Oh. Oh no. Never forget the story, Tony. Rule one of any lie.

“Oh, they had to, um…” He couldn’t think of a single thing to say. Stupid pregnancy brain! Normally he could weave a lie in an instant, speak to the press off the cuff. But faced with Steve’s big earnest face he couldn’t think of anything.

“There wasn’t any friend, was there?” Steve asked, and although his voice was gentle and sympathetic, his voice carried an undertone of something almost like glee. But that made no sense.

“No, there wasn’t,” Tony curled his legs up onto the couch and looked at Steve, trying to read his expression.

“You didn’t have to lie you know,” Steve said, looking into his mug to avoid meeting Tony’s eye. “If you didn’t want to come that would’ve been fine.” Damn, he’d hurt his feelings.

Tony waved a hand at him. “No, that wasn’t—I would’ve loved to come Steve really I just…” he trailed off, feeling awkward. He sighed. The truth was probably the right choice here. “You’ve just spent so much time here lately, it just didn’t seem fair.”

“If I’m hanging around too much—”

“No. Stop. Not what I’m saying,” Tony huffed. “I mean that you’ve been around here so much, you deserved some time away from _me _. Time to hang out with your mom and see your family without the pregnant omega who it turns out can’t even manage to keep a house warm in bad weather.”__

Steve smiled at him. “Tony, I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t want to be.”

Tony felt a different warmth in his cheeks and looked away to focus on the fire.

Then a sudden thought hit him.

“You said I was hypothermic.”

“Yeah?”

“Did we cuddle?”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check end notes for minor warnings

  


They ended up crashing on the couch that night by the fire and getting up to deal with the power once it was light out, Steve doing the shovelling and Tony triumphantly fixing the wiring. 

Tony heated the leftovers (which were definitely a credit to Ms Rogers), and he and Steve sat on the couch watching TV and enjoying each other’s company. 

They were halfway through Knocked Up—Tony thought it was a hilarious choice; Steve had rolled his eyes—when Steve spoke.

“You know, from the way my mom told it, I guess I was expecting you to be more..." he paused while clearly trying to pick the safest word. "Unpredictable? I mean you've snapped at me a time or two, but they've usually been when you're having a bad day or you're tired, so they're easy to see coming.”

Tony nodded as he speared a potato onto his fork. "The mood swings are more in the first trimester. When you've got morning sickness and your hormones are going wild. By now they've settled, so it mostly just regular grumpiness.”

Steve hummed. "So, were you worse before we met?"

Tony snorted. "Oh, you have no idea. I'd be irrationally angry when even a small thing went wrong. I'd be having a good day and then I would just be overwhelmed and spend half an hour crying. It took me a while to realise I had these two buns in the oven, so it was a confusing couple of months. It was kind of the worst."

Steve nodded and then looked at him. "And you had to do it all by yourself?"

Tony froze for a second. They'd been hanging out regularly and Steve had never even mentioned it, but he supposed everyone's curiosity won out in the end.

"Yup. Just me, no one else.”

"Where’s the alpha?"

Tony sighed and put his plate onto the coffee table.

"Turns out he was an asshole who lied about wanting to bond with me and then ran off to party in Europe as soon as he got me knocked up,” Tony said, a little more bitterly than he'd intended. "I should've seen it coming, really. He was always way too into the party scene and I'm pretty sure he only liked me for the status. I just didn't realise until it was too late.”

Steve's face was sympathetic. "Pretty dick move to bail after the fact though, planned or not.”

"That's what bugged me the most. There shouldn't have been any accidents. He's a bastard for stopping his suppressants without telling me, but I'm an idiot for not being careful enough. I don't get it; I was always so careful and I took my pills. But they must’ve failed.”

Steve frowned. "He stopped taking his suppressants without telling you?"

“Yeah.”

“But he still mated during your heat?”

Tony nodded.

If anything, Steve's face got even frownier. He was starting to look kind of mad. "Tony, you don't think it's a bit strange, him stopping his suppressants and yours suddenly not working?"

Now it was Tony turn to frown. "No, I mean, it's unfortunate but he clearly wasn't interested in having kids.”

"Some alphas are really into the rut/heat thing though, and they tend to be..." Steve thought for a second. "Total asshole cavemen about it. Honestly you should hear the way some of them talk. You said he liked the status of being with you. Maybe he also wanted to be able to brag that he had done a cycle line up with an omega. Trust me, the fact you were unbonded would make the story more…triumphant.” 

Steve looked at him, expression gentle, but with an edge beneath it that Tony knew wasn’t aimed at him. “I have the feeling that if you got your pills tested, there wouldn’t be a suppressant in the bottle.”

For a second, Tony just sat there. What with the shock of finding himself pregnant and his father telling him it was his own fault for being foolish for sleeping around while he was unbonded, it hadn’t really crossed his mind. 

Pieces began falling slowly into place. It wasn’t like he hadn't seen Ty's internet history; he knew he was into it. But lots of alphas were, that didn't mean—

Oh. Oh, fuck. 

Ty had stopped taking the suppressants. And he'd cancelled on a week-long retreat in the Bahamas that he was meant to attend with his father the week Tony's heat hit. Tony had thought it was odd at the time—Ty never went against his father, loving his lifestyle and too worried about being cut off. But he'd said he missed Tony and wanted to stay and spend the week with him instead. He'd been weirdly attentive, clingy even, and he’d hung around way more than usual. Tony had hoped at the time it was because they were finally getting on the same page, that they might be heading towards bonding like Ty always said they would. That Ty felt the same way he did. But it hadn’t been because of that. It was because he'd known. Ty had known what was going to happen and he'd done it anyway.

Tony couldn’t believe he hadn’t thought of it. He was so dumb because laid out it seemed so obvious.

"That fucking bastard!" Tony roared. 

Steve jumped at his outburst. "Tony—"

"Of course that's what he did! Because he's a selfish moron who didn't care one bit about me or what this would do to my life! I can't believe I thought he loved me. Fuck!" The last was uttered as he kicked the table in frustration only to remember he was barefoot. Ow, ow, ow!

Angry and pained tears pricked his eyes as he tried to grip his throbbing foot but couldn’t reach it around his belly. He felt so stupid. 

Suddenly there was an arm wrapping around him and he was being pulled against Steve, who hugged him close. He started to cry for real then, the relief of being held and comforted pushing him over the edge.

He didn’t know how long they sat there, but he cried until he ran out tears, and Steve stayed with him the whole time.

  


* * *

  


They didn’t talk about Ty again after Tony's breakdown, but Steve started to ask more questions about Tony’s family and his life before they met. He started telling Tony more about himself as well. His childhood, his time in the army and his passion for art. It was during one of these chats that the thing Tony had been avoiding came up.

"It was a bit of a compromise. Ma didn't want me to sign up for another tour, though she'd never say, and I didn't feel right leaving Bucky after his medical discharge, but I never was very good at sitting idle. Volunteer firefighter was a good compromise. I still get to do good, but I’m not getting shot at most days. It lets me do my art, and it keeps me fit.”

_Yes, it does _, Tony thought, a pang of lust settling in his belly.__

He went a little heavy lidded at the thought.

"Tony?" 

Tony quickly straightened his spine, focusing on Steve's face. "What? Yes, firefighter, you fight fires, I hear you. Nothing gets the adrenaline pumping like 1100-degree heat.”

Steve laughed. "It's not always that exciting. We mostly get called out to help during extreme weather or at accidents. Although, one time we turned up at a house fire to find a guy had accidentally set fire to his shed, which, by the smell, wasn't really for storage."

"Really?"

"Oh yeah, he was high as a kite. And there were a bunch of the neighbourhood kids standing around trying to get a whiff of the smoke. We ended up treating one of them for smoke inhalation when he jumped the fence and got too close." Steve shook his head. "Should've seen his face when his mom turned up.”

Tony laughed. "I can imagine. Rhodey's mom caught us baking brownies on break at MIT. I don't think I've ever been so scared.”

He started telling another story from MIT, the time he had gotten so drunk at a campus party he'd decided to steal a pig. In his drunken state, he was pretty sure he decided to rescue it from being bacon, but as he'd stolen it from a petting zoo in town that excuse hadn't really held up. The people he was partying with had ditched him, and he'd called Rhodey when he and the pig got lost in a park. Rhodey had driven out to get him in the middle of the night and hadn't even yelled. Just sighed and driven back into town to drop the pig back over the fence before anyone noticed it was gone. Rhodey was the best. 

He was just expecting a laugh, which he got, but not the follow-up question. 

"You know, you mention Rhodey a lot. What does he think about all this?"

Tony blinked. “What does it matter what he thinks?”

Steve huffed out a breath of air. "Sorry, maybe it's not my place to say, but you keep calling him your best friend and telling me how great he is, and don’t get me wrong, he seems it, but you're six months pregnant and you're doing this alone. Why hasn't he come to help you?"

Tony tried to swallow against the sudden lump in his throat. "He doesn't know.”

Steve's eyebrows tried to shoot off his forehead. "I'm sorry?"

"He doesn't know. I was too embarrassed to tell him.”

"Why?"

Tony rubbed a rough hand over his face. "He always told me Ty was bad news and a selfish prick, but I didn't listen. He hates Ty, and when he finds out..."

"Tony, I'm sure he won't care why it happened. If he loves you as much as it sounds like he does, then all he'll care about is being here for you. You should tell him.”

"He's going to think I'm so stupid.” It came out a whisper, and Steve reached a hand out to touch his. 

"Come on, Tony. You're amazing, and if I know that after such a short time, he definitely does. He's not going to think less of you. He might be a bit surprised, though, so maybe let him have that reaction first.” 

Tony snorted.

"There you go.” Steve smiled and nabbed Tony's phone off the table. "Don't put it off. Give him a call now. I'll start on dinner while you talk.”

"Ok. Thanks, Steve."

Steve got up and headed to the kitchen, giving Tony some privacy. He hit the button and held it to his ear, heart beating a mile a minute. He felt kind of sick.

"Hey, Rhodey.”

  


* * *

  


It had been tough but there hadn't been any ‘I told you so's' and once Tony had shared the theory of Ty's duplicity, all recrimination had fallen on him. 

Steve was over watching a Tele Novella that Tony had become accidentally addicted to (their problems were so much worse than his!) and he was pretty sure Steve was too since he always seemed to turn up when it was on.

At the knock of the door, Tony pushed himself up and went to answer it.

"Rhodey!" He was enveloped in a bear hug before he even finished.

"Wow, Stark, you're as big as a house, what happened?"

Tony punched him in the shoulder. "Shut up, you ass! I make carrying two pups look amazing.”

Rhodey snorted and gave him one last squeeze before putting him back down and leaning away to look at him.

"You do look good, Tones.”

His eyes flicked up over Tony's shoulder, and his body suddenly stiffened. 

Tony turned and saw Steve had gotten to his feet and was standing a bit back, eyes on Rhodey.

"And who's this?"

Tony raised an eyebrow at the tone. "This is my friend, Steve.”

"Your alpha friend Steve.”

Tony rolled his eyes. "Yes, my alpha friend Steve. Steve, this is James Rhodes. My other alpha friend.”

"Colonel James Rhodes,” Rhodey interjected. 

“ _Colonel _,” Steve stressed. “Captain Steve Rogers.” Tony watched as his shoulders pushed back and he saluted Rhodey. “Sir."__

Tony could see the strain as Rhodey lifted a hand to return it. Neither of them even blinked. 

Oh my god. They were posturing! Over an omega they were both just friends with. This was ridiculous. Why were they even bothering?

“All right, knock it off guys.” He gently shoved between them and pushed Steve back towards the couch. "Rhodey, how long before you need to be back on base?"

"Couple of days. I can have more time next visit since I'll have more notice.”

Tony beamed at him. “I’m really glad you’re here.”

And he was. Rhodey had always looked out for him, never made him feel less for being an omega. He trusted Rhodey. Having him here felt like a weight of his shoulders, like everything would be ok. 

He walked into the kitchen to make coffee, puttering around and pulling out his tin of cookies and after a moment of contemplation the block of chocolate he had in the back of the pantry. He piled everything onto a tray and walked back through to the lounge. 

As he entered, Steve stood up in a rush.

“I should be going,” he said, grabbing his scarf and jacket, and moving for the front door. Tony frowned, placing the coffee on the table and following him.

“What’s the rush? Steve?”

Steve opened the front door and Tony stepped out after him onto the porch. Steve pulled on his boots and Tony stood outside, arms wrapped around himself, confused. “Steve?”

Steve pulled his laces tight and then looked up. “What is it with you and standing out in the cold? Go back inside.”

Tony stared. “What is it with you and all”—he gestured wildly—“this?”

Steve straightened up, pulled his beanie from his pocket and dragged it over his blond hair. “I’m just gonna leave you to catch up with your friend. I’ll see you later, ok?”

And with that he took off towards his truck. Tony stepped back inside, closing the door behind him.

He walked back into the lounge. “What the hell was that about?”

Rhodey paused in raising the mug to his lips. “I just made it clear that I’m not sure I’m comfortable with an unattached alpha hanging around my friend when he’s vulnerable.”

Tony’s jaw dropped. “Excuse me?”

Rhodey looked at him. “Seriously Tony? What do you think he wants? He's helping you around the house, just waiting for a little gratitude.” The gesture Rhodey made told Tony exactly what sort of gratitude he was envisaging. 

“First of all, ew, please don’t do that again. Second, Steve is my friend and he has gone out of his way to help me and make sure my house is safe to live in. He’s not once said anything like that to me. I’m pregnant, Rhodey, don’t know if you noticed, with another alpha’s pups. No single attractive alpha wants an easy omega. Steve is just a good guy, everyone in the town agrees and he’s good enough to not shun me for being a slut.” 

Rhodey growled. “Don’t talk about yourself that way.”

Tony flung his arms out. “Why not? I was easy, and now I’m paying for it. And apparently you agree if you think you need to warn off my friend just because he’s an alpha. _‘Oh, Steve you better get out of here, if you give Tony attention he’ll just fall on your dick—baby beach ball and all. _’”__

Rhodey snorted at the image but pulled himself together enough to sigh. “Ok, I’m sorry if I overstepped. I just don’t want you getting screwed over again.”

Tony sat down next to him on the couch and leaned his head on his shoulder. “I know.”

“I’ll apologise to your friend next time I see him, ok?”

“Ok. Wanna watch the end of my soap with me? Diego just came back from the dead to reveal his nephew is actually his son.”

Rhodey laughed. “Sure, why not.” He settled in, ruffling a hand through Tony’s hair. “I can’t believe your taste hasn’t improved since college, man.”

  


* * *

  


Steve heard the clunk of a mug near his ear from where he was slumped over on the diner table.

“Steve?”

He whined but didn’t lift his head. There was a huff and then Sam took the seat opposite him. 

“Steve.”

Steve peeked an eye out from under his hair. 

Sam pushed a cup of coffee across the table and raised an eyebrow. “Want to tell me what’s wrong?”

Steve groaned and leaned back to rest against the back of the booth. “Nothing.”

“Oh?” Sam’s eyebrow went higher and too knowing. “So, it wouldn’t have anything to do with the alpha that stopped by here about 20 minutes ago looking for Tony Stark’s place?” 

Steve growled before he could think better of it and flushed. “He’s Tony’s best friend. Colonel James Rhodes.”

“A Colonel? Well, he seems like an upstanding young man. Young to be a colonel too,” Sam said, and his voice was too casual. Steve glared at him. “I don’t suppose he’s Tony’s babies-daddy?” Steve glared harder. “What? Like baby daddy but twins!”

“No, the pups aren't his.”

“But?”

“But he threatened me, said he thought I was hanging around Tony in order to have some sort of no-strings affair and implied that he’d be making sure Tony was looked after from now on.”

Sam’s eyebrows shot up. “He actually said he was going to court him?”

“Well no.”

“Uh huh. Well, what are you going to do about it?”

Steve blinked. “Do about it?”

Sam sipped his coffee challengingly. “You going to let this Colonel stop you courting Tony? Leave someone you care about because of some ridiculous alpha pride?”

“Well no, but, Sam, come on! It’s not like I can really court him. Not with my…” He huffed. “Well, I can’t court him, but I figured he needed help and I could be his friend, you know?”

“Steve, we have talked about this. There’s no reason you couldn’t court him as long as you’re sensitive to his situation and don’t be a big dumb alpha about it.”

“Just leave it.”

Sam put his hands up. “Fine. But put it this way: If you plan to be there for him as his friend, are you going to let this other alpha stop you from being there for Tony? Leave him in the lurch?”

“Well, no, I—”

“Then what are you doing moping around here, soldier? Get back there!”

Steve felt himself stand up, reacting automatically to the tone. “Yes Sir!” 

When he realised what he’d done, he scowled at Sam. “Not cool.”

Sam grinned. “Worked though, didn’t it? And since you’re up, I guess you could mosey on over to Tony’s and show that interloper who’s boss.”

Steve folded his arms. Then huffed. “All right, but if I’m going I’d better come bearing some of that cake you have on the counter.”

  


* * *

  


Tony was watching the credits roll when he heard a knock at the door. Rhodey made a questioning noise but stayed seated as Tony pushed himself up to answer it.

He found a sheepish Steve Rogers at the door. Tony raised an eyebrow. 

Steve shuffled a foot. “Hey, sorry I had to take off earlier. I just had a thing I had to do and I…” He presented the covered container in his hands. “I brought cake”

Tony looked at him suspiciously but then grabbed the cake. “I guess you can come in then.”

Steve smiled and followed him inside, hesitating for only a moment when he saw Rhodey watching him from the couch. 

He moved awkwardly to perch on one of the chairs and looked at Tony, as if hoping he’d defuse the tension. Well, never let it be said that Tony couldn’t take over a room. 

“Is this Sam’s raspberry chocolate cake? That one’s my favourite!” He walked towards the kitchen. “Is everyone having some?”

At the nods of agreement, he wandered into the kitchen, gathered 3 plates and a knife and started to brew coffee. He just needed to give Rhodey a window to apologise before he went back in. 

When he couldn’t reasonably put it off any longer, he gathered the refreshments and walked back into the sitting room. 

The scene was undeniably still a bit awkward, but both alphas seemed to be less growly. 

He raised an eyebrow at both of them but neither offered any response except to take the cake with thanks.

He rolled his eyes. Whatever, he’d call it a success.

  


* * *

  


At 32 weeks, Tony found himself standing outside the Shield Community Centre, nervousness sitting like a stone in his stomach. 

He hadn’t really considered joining a class until he’d been sat across from Darcy at Sam’s, sipping the juice that had become his favourite.

“Have you thought about antenatal classes? You know, the ones that teach you about the nitty gritty having-a-baby stuff?”

“Oh” Tony had said. “Yeah, Dr Banner has mentioned it a few times, but it seems kind of weird.”

He hadn’t spent a lot of time thinking about it. Or if he was honest, he had but more in the ‘I am never doing that’ kind of way. 

“You should probably go. You’re getting close and you don’t want to be unprepared. Plus, you got two in there. There’s a new class starting up next week. My friend runs it and I saw him at the store and mentioned you. He said he’d keep a spot open.”

Tony sighed. The last thing he wanted to do was go sit in a room with a bunch of omegas and be the only one unbonded. He’d had some choice words muttered at him on his walk the other day by an omega at the park and they had stung, made him feel stupid and ashamed. He didn’t want more of that.

But he had to admit, while he’d kind of been avoiding the idea of actually having the twins, he should probably know what he needed to do. 

So, he’d agreed, and Darcy had given him the details and now here he was. 

There were seats for about fifteen, and most of the seats were already taken by omegas all waiting excitedly. 

Tony swallowed. He made a beeline for one of the empty seats on the far side of the room and smiled awkwardly at the people next to him. He got some polite smiles in return, but they turned away quickly and Tony’s stomach sank. Not an auspicious start. Most of the remaining chairs filled with only a few gaps, and it wasn't long before the organiser arrived.

“Ah, new parents! Truly this is a noble journey you have chosen!” 

Tony and a few of the couples jumped as a voice echoed through the hall, though others didn’t seem surprised.

Tony turned to see a huge man with long blond hair. He was built like Hercules and his muscles bulged under his long sleeve Henley and jeans, which were slowly becoming the standard hot alpha uniform in Tony’s opinion. And he was an alpha, that much was clear, and bonded from his scent. He also looked like the least qualified individual to teach an antenatal class. 

“Good morning! I will be your instructor for the next few weeks as you prepare for your miracle.” He clapped his hands enthusiastically. “We will now go around the room and introduce ourselves.” He gave the room a once over. “I’ll go first.”

He took a seat in front of the semi-circle of chairs and smiled. “I am Thor. I run a bakery with my brother over in Asgard. I have 2 children with my omega, Jane, and we live here in Shield. Our first was a tough birth, and Jane and I both realised that it was hard for people in our area to get information about their pregnancies. She is very busy, so we decided I should train and hold easily accessible classes. And here you all are!” He grinned wide. “I hope you enjoy the classes and they help you prepare well for the arrival of your offspring!”

He gestured to the next person in line and soon Tony was learning about what each of their alphas did and how important they were and what the omegas did to fill the time. And all of them said how amazing their alpha was and how lucky they were to have their support. Some of it was obviously competitive, a perfect alpha and perfect home. Some seemed to really mean it. But a few had looked at him and it had felt pretty pointed.

By the time Tony’s turn came, his stomach had tied itself in knots. He felt suddenly so alone and wished he hadn’t come. 

“Uh, I’m Tony. I moved here a few months ago, and I’m 32 weeks and having twins.”

Thor smiled widely. “Twins! That is truly a blessing!” 

He smiled at Thor, a little nervously. If everyone had that reaction, maybe it wouldn’t be so bad.

Then someone cleared their throat.

“So, where’s your bond mate?” 

Tony looked over to see an omega who he remembered had introduced himself as Justin.

Wow. Great. “No bond mate, just me.”

Justin’s eyebrows rose comically, which was ridiculous, since they all would all have been able to smell his lack of bonding scent the moment he walked in. It was intentional and petty and Tony hated it.

“Oh, so you and your alpha haven’t bonded, but you’re having pups? How modern,” Justin drawled, voice snide.

Tony wrapped his arms around himself, feeling small. “No. No alpha, just me.”

Justin’s expression turned triumphant for a moment, but as the man opened his mouth to reply, Thor interrupted.

“I think that’s enough questions for now, Justin.” His tone brokered no argument.

Justin smiled at Thor and fell quiet, much to Tony’s relief, though not without throwing an irritated glance Tony’s way.

Once they got started though, Tony managed to forget the others while he listened intently to Thor.

He hadn’t realised how much he’d missed learning things, even if it wasn’t quite as exciting as computer programming. Thor took them through the program for his course: 2 hours a week for 6 weeks, with each session focussing on a different topic.

In the first hour, Tony learned about the key foods to keep him healthy, suggestions for exercise before and after labour. 

Then came the morning tea break. 

Tony watched as the omegas gathered near the snacks. He planned to stay in his seat and wait for the class to restart, but then he heard Darcy’s voice in his head telling him that the classes would be a great place to make some parenting friends, and he figured he owed it to himself to try.

He got up and approached the group, pasting on his press smile he’d been taught to use since he’d been a kid. He was a Stark, and Starks knew how to charm people. He had this.

He had barely joined the circle when Justin noticed him and grinned. “Tony, we were just talking about you.”

“Oh? Well that’s ominous.” Tony held onto his smile even as his stomach clenched.

“We were just saying how brave you are,” Justin said, voice faux sweet. “Raising twins by yourself. I mean, you know no alpha will ever want you now, but you don’t let it get you down. It’s”—he paused for effect—“inspiring”

Tony stared. Who the fuck was this guy? Tony knew people judged him for being a single omega, and he’d been worried about the class, but this was more blatant that even he’d imagined. 

The omega next to Justin, Zeb-something, chuckled. “Of course, you know, pups need an alpha, so I guess it just makes you even more brave knowing that they aren’t going to come out quite right without an alpha to raise them.”

Tony felt a hot rage fill him. “Well, maybe if their alpha hadn’t turned out to be an asshole, then he’d be here, but we don't always get what we want, I guess.”

Justin carried on as if he hadn't spoken. “Well, Zebadiah, I mean if you choose to mate with an alpha before you’re bonded, really you’re asking for it.”

Shame and anger washed over him. This was every bad thought he’d had about himself since he’d seen the positive on his home test and it was even harder having it thrown at him by people he’d thought might understand what he was going through.

He opened his mouth to say something—he wasn’t sure if it was a biting retort or a sob at this stage—when Thor clapped his hands to call them back to the circle.

Tony felt sick all the way through the second half, making it hard to take in the rest of the lesson, but he did his best.

Thor smiled at him kindly when he’d talked about bond mate support, making a point to talk about support you could get from other family members or friends. 

Tony really liked Thor. 

When the class ended, Tony hung back to let the others leave so he wouldn’t have to pass them. 

This had been a mistake. He shouldn’t have come. He should’ve just stayed at home and hidden himself away. Maybe it would’ve been better if he’d just been sent to live at convent or something. 

He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see Thor. 

“Did you enjoy the class, Tony?”

Tony gave a weak smile. “Uh, yeah it was…great, really great. You’re good at this.”

“You are too kind! I hope you will be coming along again?”

“Oh, I’m not sure I—”

The hand moved to wrap around his shoulders and jostle him as Thor laughed. “But of course you will. You have had a rough time, but you will get all the help you need for your little ones. Now come, my brother has been working on some excellent delicacies that will lift your spirits.”

And that’s how Tony found himself, one car ride and 45 minutes later, sitting in a booth at Odin’s Sons’ Bakery, eating a molten chocolate cupcake, nearly moaning as he took a bite. “Oh my god, this is so good.”

“Yes, my brother is the magician. I am the business sense,” Thor said, smirking at his brother, who sneered.

“I have told you, brother, it is not magic; it is skill. Finely honed skills that you will never possess.”

“Yes, yes, Loki, you are an excellent baker,” Thor rumbled good-naturedly. 

“I am an _artist _!” Loki hissed, before he disappeared in a flounce of black and green apron.__

Tony stared, before awkwardly looking back at Thor. Thor waved a hand. “Do not mind him—he just believes he is unappreciated in his time. He has had his application to MasterChef turned down three times.”

Tony shoved more chocolate in his face. “I don’t think even Gordon Ramsey could find fault with this.”

He looked around the cosy bakery and then glanced back at Thor.

"So, do you kidnap all your students and feed them at your bakery?” Tony asked, curious.

Thor laughed, a soft rumble. "Nay, Darcy told me of your troubles and asked me to look out for you.”

What was with this town? "Oh, so this is pity cake? Figures.”

Tony got the acting neighbourly thing—well, no, he didn't; no one he'd known before had acted like this—but this polite friendliness thing was starting to grate. He didn’t need people pretending to like him.

Thor shook his head. “It’s not pity. Darcy speaks highly of you and she cares about her friends. So she wanted to make sure you would have a good time in my class. On pain of death.” His eyes twinkled. “I do not wish to make an enemy of Darcy, for she is formidable, so I must ensure you enjoy our parenting sessions.”

Tony swallowed hard at the feeling in his chest. “I suppose so.”

Thor grinned and pushed his own slice of cake towards Tony. “Do not fret. I will think on it and work out how to make them better for you.”

Tony accepted the cake but looked at Thor with disbelief. 

Thor laughed in a loud rumble. “Trust me; I will take care of it.”

  


* * *

  


Thor didn’t manage to fix the next few sessions. 

His teaching was great, and he made sure to account for Tony’s solo status in his advice. But he couldn’t stop the judgey atmosphere. 

Tony dreaded those two hours. Stuck in a room with a bunch of Stepford omegas who had apparently never made a mistake in their lives.

Tony didn’t understand it. Why did they have to treat each other so poorly? Wasn’t it bad enough that the alphas did?

Not all the omegas were horrid, but Tony never managed to talk to them. Whenever he tried to approach them at the break, Justin Hammer and his crew would block him.

Thor would try to intervene but often he would get stuck answering questions and couldn’t drag himself away.

Leaving the building felt like a weight lifting off Tony shoulders, and the days leading up to the next one would slowly put it back.

Tony sat at the diner with Steve, morosely stirring his macaroni and cheese.

Steve nudged his elbow. “You ok?”

Tony shrugged.

“Tony.” Steve’s voice was gentle. “Food is better if you actually put it in your mouth.”

He tipped his head up so he could look Steve in the eye and sighed. “I’ve got antenatal class tomorrow.”

Steve hummed. “Ah.”

Tony nodded. “Yes. _Ah _. I’m just getting so sick of those guys, you know? I mean I know that my situation isn’t great, and I know what they think of me, that I’m a whore, a ‘fallen omega’, and it may be true, but I don’t need it shoved in my face every week.”__

Steve growled. “Don’t say that. You’re not…that.”

Tony almost wanted to laugh. Steve was so precious, not wanting to even say the word.

“I know what I am, Steve. But whatever, tomorrow's going to be awful.”

Steve still looked annoyed, but he let it pass. “It might not be as bad as you think. It’s the birth session, right? Might be useful.”

Tony nodded glumly. “Sure.”

This week was The Birth. Capitals fully required.

Tony wasn’t…thrilled, but Thor had said it was important. What he really wasn’t looking forward to, was the Lamaze. Everyone else in the class had an alpha. Someone to hold their hands and laugh at how silly it was. 

The idea made Tony feel so lonely that for a moment, he couldn’t breathe. He’d never really thought kids would be for him, but growing up as an omega, he’d always been told how an alpha would bond with him and fill him with adorable alpha babies (teenage Tony had been horrified, grown up Tony wasn’t too happy either) but regardless, he’d been told he’d be doing it all with someone. Now that he was facing having them all on his own, and now that he was at the point where he had to actually think about having them, he had never felt so alone. 

And since he didn’t have a partner with him, he’d have to pair with the teacher like the kid in the class no-one wanted to play with. 

At least it was Thor. He liked Thor.

Whatever. He was a big boy. 

He could handle it.

  


* * *

  


Tony stood outside the community centre again.

He took a deep fortifying breath. He could do this. He could.

Clinging to that thought, he pushed open the doors and walked into the vipers’ nest. 

The first part of the class was relatively easy. He avoided eye contact with the others—he didn’t need to see any smug looks or watch the alphas posture and compare knots or whatever it is they did. They ran over a few of the tips from previous sessions and Thor answered some burning questions people had.

Tony had started to relax, maybe in wouldn’t be as bad as—

“And now we shall begin with the breathing and positions to help you when the time comes.”

Thor lay out mats for them to sit on, and Tony felt rather than saw Justin lean forward to give him the fish eye.

“Excuse me a moment,” Thor said apologetically, as he headed for the door. “I left the info pamphlets in the car.”

The moment they were alone, Justin smirked at Tony. “Wow, this must be a treat for you.”

Internally, Tony rolled his eyes. He shouldn’t have to take this. He wouldn’t have before all this, so he didn’t know why it was getting to him now. “What, getting to be in the same room as you? Oh yeah, such a treat.”

Justin’s smirk got wider. “I meant the exercises. They’ll be so good for your alpha to learn—oh wait”—his expression turned mock sympathetic—“he’s not here is he?”

Tony grit his teeth. “I don’t see how that’s anyone’s business but mine.”

Zeb piped up, expression dark. “It’s our business when you bring this kind of loose morality and sexual deviancy into our town. You should have stayed in the city where the rest of your kind are.”

The others in the class who had been chatting amongst themselves fell silent as Zeb’s voice rose above them. 

Sexual deviancy? Was he serious?

Tony felt himself shaking. He opened his mouth to tear a strip off these two assholes who thought they could treat him like this when there was the sound of laughter from the corridor and Thor walked in with his arm around a familiar set of shoulders. 

Steve’s eyes found his and Tony’s breath caught at the sight of his gorgeous smile.

Thor grinned as he led Steve in. “Class, we have an unexpected guest. This is Steve Rogers.”

There was a murmur of hellos, but Tony only had eyes for Steve as he walked over. “Hey, Tony.”

“Hey, what—what are you doing here?”

Steve smiled. “You said it was the Lamaze, and I figured you could use a partner?”

Oh. Tony tried to ignore the flush rising in his cheeks. “You didn’t have to.”

“I wanted to.” Steve’s voice was soft and just for him and all Tony could do was nod gratefully. 

“If the omegas can sit down on a mat, alphas you sit behind them,” Thor instructed, and Steve reached out to take Tony’s arm and help him down. 

He felt Justin and Zeb’s eyes on him again, but before they could do anything, Steve reached across to shake the other alpha’s hands. “Pierce, Rumlow, good to see you.”

The other alphas immediately straightened up, reaching out to grasp his hand. “Rogers.”

“How’s the business doing? Any more problems?” Steve had a steely glint in his eye that Tony didn’t understand but the other two alphas clearly did. 

The posturing would have been ridiculous if it hadn’t been so immediately obvious that Steve was out-alphaing everyone.

Pierce—Justin’s alpha had a name it would seem—cleared his throat. “No, we’re lucky that trouble has passed. We’re so grateful you and your crew were able to help before it did more damage that it did.”

“Well, accidents happen,” Steve said, with a slight edge to his voice. “But looks like you finally bonded. Justin, Zebadiah, good to see you. And expecting, congratulations.” 

Rumlow mumbled his thanks. Tony looked away from Steve to Zeb and Justin, who both looked gobsmacked. 

Steve gave a steely grin. “And you’ve obviously met my friend Tony. He’s great, isn’t he?” 

Tony smirked at the looks the two omegas shot his way and tried valiantly not to feel too smug. 

Well, not that hard. He wasn’t a saint. 

Tony caught Thor out the corner of his eye and realised he’d been watching the exchange. He winked at Tony before clapping his hands.

“Ok if the alphas would sit behind the omegas, we’ll practice breathing.”

And if Tony let himself enjoy the warmth of Steve against his back a little too much, no one else needed to know.

  


* * *

  


At 36 weeks Tony felt huge. 

Pregnancy hadn’t exactly been a cake walk, but, god, by now, he was absolutely done. 

Everything was a trial.

He was having a quiet morning at home when the most memorable occasion of pregnancy struggle happened. 

He put his dishes from lunch away and headed back to the lounge to relax for a while. Tony moved to grab the remote and as he sat back down, his foot slipped on a loose magazine. He yelped as his leg went out from under him and, flailing wildly, he tumbled, bouncing off the arm and wedging himself between the couch and the wall. 

Tony tried to sit up but found he couldn't. The awkwardness of the baby bump and the fact that his arms were squished to his sides made it too hard. He tried to push at the couch to get enough space to wiggle free, but he couldn’t get the force he needed and the heavy couch caught on the carpet. 

He struggled for a few minutes before relaxing back and staring at the ceiling.

He started to laugh. He laughed till he couldn’t breathe because oh god, he was stuck and his phone was on the kitchen island.

He tried to get free for a while before deciding it was a lost cause. He'd have to wait till his neighbours got home from work and hopefully grab someone's attention. He looked at the clock. He could probably last two hours.

Grateful he'd been reaching for the remote, Tony stretched to turn on the TV and then settled in to wait.

  


* * *

  


He must’ve nodded off at one point because he blinked awake to a knocking at the door. He craned his neck to look at it confusedly for a second before his sore back reminded him of his predicament. 

“Hello?! Is someone out there?”

“Tony? It’s Steve.” Steve’s reply was muffled and hard to hear.

“Steve? Thank god, I need help!”

The door rattled but stayed closed. “It’s locked—are you ok?”

“I’m stuck. I can’t get up.”

“You had another fall? Jesus.” Steve’s voice sounded panicked. “I’m going to get help, just hang on.”

“No, Steve, I’m ok I just...and he’s gone.” Tony could hear him retreating quickly down the driveway. 

He probably should’ve worded it differently.

He lay back and twiddled his thumbs, listening and waiting. About 10 minutes later, he could hear the approaching sound of hurried footsteps. “Tony?!”

“Steve, I—”

“Hang on, we’re getting in there.”

We?

He could hear the jangle of tools and the sound of a muffled argument. What the hell was happening out there?

The voices rose sharply but were too muffled for him to make out words. 

Suddenly, the sound of tools dropped away and there was a loud bang. 

The noise made Tony yelp in surprise. Then another bang stronger this time. 

Bang...Bang...Bang!

Ban—

The door swung open with a slam against the wall. “Tony?!”

“What the fuck, Steve—”

A second later, the alpha was down on his knees beside him. “Are you ok? Do you need an ambulance or—”

“Steve—”

“—to go to the doctor’s, sorry it took so long, I—” Steve was clearly scenting him, hands running over his arms looking for damage.

“Steve!” Tony barked and Steve’s mouth snapped shut as he froze.

“I’m ok, I slipped and got stuck. I can’t move but I’m fine.”

“Oh,” Steve said quietly, and then flushed a deep red. “Oh god, I am so sorry. Here, let me get you up.”

Tony couldn’t help but find the blush endearing as he was hauled up. He groaned as he stretched out. 

He became aware of another person in the apartment who was trying to stifle laughter at his predicament and looked over. “Who’s this?”

“Clint Barton,” the man said, leaning against the wall. “I’m Steve’s neighbour.” He turned to the doorway. “Looks like your alpha broke the door.”

Ignoring the ‘your alpha’ part for the moment, Tony turned to Steve. “You broke the door?!”

Steve flushed even more. “I thought you were hurt! Clint tried to pick the lock but it was taking too long so I ahhh—shoulder barged it.”

Breaking his door should not be so hot. “Can it be fixed?”

The reply comes from Clint. “I’d mostly broken the lock; that’s why he could break it down. I should be able to repair it for you in exchange for a beer or something.”

Tony smiled. “Haven’t really got any alcohol for obvious reasons, but I’ve probably got a couple of slices of pie in the fridge?”

Clint hummed eagerly. “Got yourself a deal. You gonna help me or what, Steve?”

Steve had still been staring at Tony but turned at the sound of his name. “Oh yeah, sure.”

Which is how Tony ended up serving pie to two sweaty alphas and getting a brand-new lock for his trouble. 

He got new keys, and after some thought gave one to Steve to keep this time.

The smile Steve gave him as his hand folded over the key was nearly blinding.

  


* * *

  


"Hey, are you busy on Friday?"

Tony looked up from the design he was making on his tablet. "Huh?"

Steve was still looking at the TV, but he said again, "Are you busy Friday?"

Tony looked at his stomach pointedly. "Oh yeah, I'm so hitting the clubs like this, I'll be out all night.” Steve snorted.

"Of course I'm not. Why?"

"The gallery is having a showing and I thought maybe you'd want to come.”

Tony purses his lips suspiciously. Steve knows by now how he generally feels about art, so there must be more to it than that.

"Oh? What kind of art?"

"Just some paintings, a few sculptures, you know. Art-art.”

“Steeeeeeeeve."

"Annnnd Piotr offered to show a few of my paintings at the show,” he said, a big grin replacing the casual expression. 

There it was. "Really? That's amazing!" 

It really was. Steve had been educating Tony about the gallery and how competitive it is since they met. Piotr Rasputin is a big name in the business, and although he opened a gallery in a small town and only held few events throughout the year, they always attracted the who’s-who of the art world. He’s overheard the excited twittering about it at Sam’s and this one is apparently a staple of the town’s social calendar. 

Tony knew that Steve did graphic design work because he needed to eat rather than from passion. He'd prefer to do his art full time or at the very least something more fun like being a comic book or web comic artist. Getting his pieces shown was a big deal. 

"What did you give to show?"

"A few paintings I did,” Steve looked a little abashed. "So, do you want to come?"

Of course Tony wanted to go. But even if he didn't, he could see that Steve wanted him to go. And after everything Steve had done for him, what kind of asshole would he be to say no?

"Absolutely. What time and do I have to dress fancy?" He looks doubtfully at his bump. No way is he going to fit into any of his old suits.

Steve beamed at him. "7pm, and no, just dress tidy; it's fine. My Ma can't make it because she couldn't get off shift so I'm showing her on Saturday morning instead, but a lot of the others will be there so you don't have to hang out alone. Even Bucky’s coming. It’ll be nice to see him; we haven’t caught up much lately.”

Tony winced a little. He enjoyed having Steve here to talk and hang out and he definitely appreciated the things Steve did for him, but he couldn’t help but worry that Steve was missing out on stuff or not getting time to do things with his friends. 

"You know you don't have to always come over, right? I can take care of myself.”

"I like coming over here,” Steve told him firmly, giving him a confused look. “I wouldn’t come if I didn’t want to.” 

Oh, well. Then who is Tony to argue?

"Ok. Friday at 7 then. I'll be there.”

  


* * *

  


Steve sipped from the glass of wine he was holding as he drummed his fingers against his thigh. People were arriving into the foyer for the show and soon would be seeing his art.

Oh, and others. But mostly _his _.__

He felt a hand on his arm and turned to see Piotr’s business partner (and romantic partner if you believed the town gossip, though Steve had never been able to confirm it) smiling at him. 

“Hi, Kitty, good turnout.”

“It is, I’m really pleased. These things are a lot of work.” He could see the flush of exertion on her skin, but she still somehow made running a big event look effortless. “You don’t need to be nervous, you know. The pieces you gave us are excellent. They’re a lovely addition to the show.”

Steve blushed a little. “Thanks. I worked pretty hard on them.”

“And you clearly put a lot of love into them. Especially the larger portrait, very passionate.”

That made Steve’s face really heat. He had taken a lot of time on that one, wanting to do it justice.

She smiled at him, wide and knowing. “Well, I hope he gets to see it. Enjoy the show, Steve.”

As he watched her walk away, his eyes caught on a figure at the main door. 

Tony looked incredible. 

Steve watched as Tony looked around nervously, hand subconsciously resting on his belly. It clicked that he was worried about what all these new people were going to say or do once they caught his unbonded scent, and Steve felt himself stiffen. 

No-one had better belittle him in any way or Steve was going to—He felt a growl rising in his throat and had to tamp down on it. 

He watched Tony take a deep breath, push his shoulders back and step in the foyer.

Tony was so brave and even though he thought he might get hurt he was going anyway, to see _Steve’s _work.__

No wonder Steve loved him so much.

Steve was so screwed.

  


* * *

  


Tony put his shoulders back as he entered the gallery. 

He hadn’t been around this many people since his father’s last gala. He’d done this a thousand times, and he was good at it.

But it was different now. His name meant nothing, and his mistakes were on full display.

But Steve wanted him here and he wanted to be here, so fuck it. 

He scanned the room and spotted Natasha and Bucky talking with Sam.

He sighed in relief. That made things easier.

He walked over, smiling when Natasha saw him. “Hey.”

“Tony! So glad you made it.” She pulled him into a hug. He nodded over her shoulder to Bucky and Sam who raised their wine glasses in greeting.

“Steve’ll be so happy you came,” Sam said enthusiastically, then grunted when Bucky elbowed him. 

Tony opened his mouth to ask when Natasha released him to wave at a rapidly approaching Darcy, dragging Ian behind her. 

He stuck with them as they wandered the gallery, keeping an eye out for Steve though he never showed. 

It wasn’t until they made it to the far end that Tony saw a landscape he recognised from Steve’s sketch book. It looked even better in colour and long brushstrokes. 

There were other pieces in the same style of different scenes, pieces that drew attention and kept Tony captivated. 

They turned a corner and came face to face with the main piece. A large canvas that took up most of the wall.

Tony stared at it for a moment, not really understanding what he was seeing. 

Because that was definitely him.

But he looked…incredible.

Dark eyes that were warm and intelligent. Wild hair and a strong jaw. 

The painting was from the waist up, but his bump was hinted at rather than the focal point. Like it mattered more who the subject was.

Every stroke looked like it had been done with painstakingly care.

He looked like himself again. 

He swallowed hard, overwhelmed. Steve had seen him, the him not defined by the passengers he was carrying.

His eyes pricked, and he felt a hand on his shoulder. 

He turned to see Steve, gorgeous, kind Steve looking at him in anticipation.

He was so gone for him.

  


* * *

  


When the pups finally arrived, they still managed to make it a surprise.  
It was two weeks before Tony’s due date and he was walking to the post office to pick up a package. On one of his down days, Steve had suggested he pick some fun clothes for the twins so he could start to imagine the two little people who would be coming. Steve had been right; it hadn’t taken long for Tony’s mood to lighten thinking about his babies in tiny novelty nerd onesies.

Steve had been by this morning and offered to grab the package for him, but Tony had declined. Steve had been doing things for him so often the last couple of months he realised he’d been starting to rely on him. And that? Well, that was dangerous. 

So, he’d brushed the offer off, reminding Steve that he was meeting Sam for coffee, and wandered down himself. 

He’d just picked up his order and was passing the park when he felt his muscles tighten. He stood still, breathing deep and waiting. He’d had Braxton Hicks on and off in the last two months, so he was fairly used to the sensation. Usually they let up fairly quick if he changed position, so he carefully moved to the low wall surrounding the park to sit down. After a few minutes, he realised they weren’t stopping. In fact, they were getting worse. 

He frowned. Maybe he needed to try and walk a bit?

He stood up and the pain ramped up suddenly. He sucked in breath, and pushed it out, trying to keep it even. After a moment, the tightness dropped away, and he straightened up. That had hurt.

He picked his package off the wall and had only walked a block before the pain started again. He held a hand to his stomach; this was different. 

The pain abated once more, and Tony started walking again. He suddenly wanted to be home, his instincts rebelling against the idea of being out in the open and demanding he return to the safety of the nest. He only made it to the corner before it hit again. He bent over this time, groaning a little. Ow.

These felt worse than the Braxton Hicks had. A lot worse. And they weren’t usually so frequent and lengthy.

Another round hit, and he fell back to lean against the wall, his eyes squeezing shut. His package dropped to the floor as he slapped his hands against the brick for balance. 

“Hey man, are you ok?”

He opened his eyes to see an alpha, short and stocky, and bonded from the scent, looking concerned. 

“Uh yeah I just—ugh!” he gasped as the pain peaked. 

“You need a doctor or something?” the man asked. 

“Yeah, I think I should just get home, really, thanks,” Tony said, waving him off. He just wanted to get home and be safe in his own space.

“You sure? You look like you’re hurting.”

Tony gestured to his belly. “Just some Braxton Hicks, I think.”

“Oh ok, yeah that’s—” The man was cut off as Tony groaned again, clutching his abdomen.

“Ok, that seems like it’s a bit more. How far along are you?”

“About 37 weeks.”

“And how long have you been hurting?”

Tony did a quick calculation. Four since the park. More intense than usual. “Uh, since this morning? But not as bad.”

“That sounds like you might be getting contractions. Like proper ones”

Tony shook his head. “Can’t be, I’m still 2 weeks out.”

The man snorted. “Babies don’t always stick to a schedule.” He leant down and picked up the bag and grabbed Tony’s elbow. “Come on, I drive a cab. Let me take you to the Doc to be sure, huh?”

He settled Tony into the back seat and climbed in the front. “You got someone who can look out for you at home? Might want to give them a call.” The statement was deliberately light, which told Tony he'd noticed the lack of bonded scent.

“Uh yeah, I—” he patted his pockets, but they were empty. Where was his phone? He rifled through again but still nothing. He groaned; he must’ve left it on the post office counter or maybe he hadn’t even taken it when he left the house. Oh well, he could look for it after his check-up.

And maybe it was best he not call Steve or Rhodey anyway. No need to worry them if it was a false alarm. 

“It’s fine, I’ll be all right.”

“You’re the boss.”

Tony settled back in the cab. “Thanks for the help, Mr…?”

“Hogan, but everyone calls me Happy.”

Oh, so this was the Hogan’s Taxi he’d heard about. “Well, thanks, Happy. I’m Tony.”

“Nice to meet you.”

  


* * *

  


Tony lay back as he groaned through another wave. During the car ride the pain had spread to his lower back and it left him breathing deep. He ended up sliding down and lying across the back seat.

Happy stopped at the lights and turned around. “Tony, these are getting pretty regular and you’ve been groaning for a lot longer. I think you’re going into labour.”

Tony glared at him. “How do you know?”

“I have a couple of sisters who have both had pups already, I know the signs. Plus, my omega and I are thinking of trying so we’ve both been doing research.”

Tony thought about the idea of having a partner so interested in their omega’s health and wanting pups enough to take on information gathering. Someone to calm fears and hold his hand as he hissed through another contraction.

He couldn’t deny that’s what it was and he was scared. 

He wanted Steve.

He looked at Happy. “I think I need to go to the hospital.”

Happy nodded. “Good, because I decided a while ago and we’re on our way. You didn’t notice.”

Tony snorted. “You’ve got a lot of sass for a cab driver, you know that?”

“You clearly haven’t ridden in enough cabs.”

Happy made the rest of the trip to the hospital in about half the time.

The car came to a stop, and Happy got out. Suddenly the back door opened, and he was there, helping Tony out and directing him to the entrance of what Tony could now see was the maternity ward. 

As they reached the doors, a contraction, the strongest so far, rolled through him and he felt Happy tighten his grip to stop him losing his balance. 

They approached the counter and Tony was aware of Happy explaining the situation to the front desk, but all he could think about was his missing phone. 

He couldn’t call anyone, and he didn’t know the numbers off by heart. The whole point of having a phone was not having to remember numbers! 

He was going to have to do this alone. 

He felt his eyes prickle, and not for the first time since this all started, he wished his Mom was here. Petting his hair and telling him it would be ok. But that was impossible.

He thought of Rhodey and Steve and how he wanted both of them here. But then again, what alpha, even a great alpha, wanted to be in the delivery room of another alpha’s pups? 

Maybe it was better this way. His pups, his life. He could do this all by himself. 

He just wished he didn’t have to.

“Ok, you’re definitely in labour, Mr Stark, and it seems like it’s coming on fast,” the attending doctor informed him. “It’s lucky you came in when you did.”

Tony made a mental note to send Happy a thank-you gift when this was all over. The alpha had left to go back to work, but not before making Tony promise to let him know how everything went. 

“We’ll get you to obstetrics and have them check you over.” The doctor helped Tony into a wheelchair and gestured to an orderly.

As he rolled through the halls, he pressed his hand to his swollen belly. 

Not long now.

  


* * *

  


“I’m in love with Tony.”

“Wow, what a revelation,” Sam drawled, deadpan.

Steve reached out and clipped his ear. “Hey!”

Sam yelped. “Steve, that’s been obvious to everyone since he moved here. The whole town has been wondering why you haven’t made a move yet.”

“You know why. And his last alpha was…well he was a prick and it clearly messed Tony up, and I didn’t want to rush him.” Steve sighed. “Besides, he’s so…look, if you ask him about tech he’s not shy about telling you how much he knows. If you mention a show you like, before you even finish the sentence he’ll tell you why your taste is terrible and his is a refined palate. But if you even raise the question of relationships or alphas or omega or anything in that vein, he just…shuts down? He can be really down on himself, especially about the pregnancy. So, I just thought maybe it wasn’t a good idea to try and start something. At least not yet?” He looked down at the table. “And besides, it didn’t feel right starting anything when he doesn’t know about my thing.”

"Look man, I'm not going to tell you whether you should or shouldn’t, it’s your call. Personally, I think you were right to wait, no matter how much Darcy wants to slap you round the head for taking so long. The last few months have been good for you.” Sam leaned forward, elbows resting on the table. “And I think it’s important that you be absolutely sure—"

Steve cut in. "I am. I know what I want.”

Sam put his hand up, stopping him from interrupting further. “I’m not doubting you; I just think it’s important you take the time to make absolutely sure that this is something you want. Not just for you, but for him. And for the kids when they come. It’s a big commitment, and it's not fair to insert yourself into his and the twins' life, if you aren't sure and might decide after a few months it's not for you."

Steve opened his mouth to argue, but then he stopped and huffed out a breath. "Yeah, you're right.”

Sam grinned. "I always am, Steve-o. When you going to get that through that head of yours?"

Steve took the time to give him the biggest eye roll he could muster.

Sam snorted and then looked at him again. "All I'm saying is don't make any big decisions or declarations too soon. You want in for the long run? Then take the time you need. Let him adjust to being a new parent and take the time for you to adjust to what it's like to have kids around. You can still help him, try your hand at pup-wrangling and getting to know them, do a bit of light courting, but before you think of moving to the next level. Make sure you're ready to step up and be an alpha to those kids and that omega and that you aren't going to change your mind when it gets hard. Ok?"

Steve nods his agreement. It was sound advice and Sam was right. There was no need to rush things.

"Good. And as for the other thing, just tell him when you’re ready.”

Steve smiled and reached over the table top to pull Sam into an incredibly awkward hug. He felt Sam's arm wrap around him in response as the edge digs into his ribs. "You're a good friend, Sam.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know. Now sit down and eat your pie, Rogers.”

  


* * *

  


Tony was changed into a gown and settled into a hospital bed. 

An alpha entered the ward, smiling before leaning down to grab his chart. “Good morning, Mr Stark, I am Dr Cho and I am the on-call obstetrician. How are we feeling today?”

Tony grimaced. “Kind of sore?”

The doctor chuckled. “That’s pretty normal. Now, I see you’re expecting twins, and they’re a little early, but that’s fairly common. Just because it is twins, we’ll be keeping an eye on you throughout, making sure everything stays fine.”

Tony nodded gratefully, twisting the blanket in his hand. 

Dr Cho moved to sit at the end of the bed. “Mr Stark, do you have a planned birth-helper?” The gentle tone told Tony she was already aware, which hey, made sense since he’d left the box blank on the form. 

Tony cleared his throat. “Uh no, it’s…it’s difficult to find someone when you’re in my position, since the alpha usually approves the helper.”

She nodded knowingly. “I know it’s difficult; we get plenty of omegas in the same boat. But don’t worry, we’ll make sure everything is taken care of and you and the twins are healthy.”

Tony felt a little better and genuinely grateful. “Thanks Doc.”

“You’re welcome. Now I need to take a quick look to see how the dilation is going, is that ok?”

Tony agreed and waited patiently through the exam, groaning through another contraction.

The doctor removed her gloves and deposited them in the bin. “Ok, so you’re about 4cm dilated and the contractions are fairly regular. You probably want to make the decision on an epidural now.”

Tony nodded quickly. “Yes, please.”

“Absolutely. I have to check on another patient, but I’ll send the nurse to come by and prep you for it. If you need anything at any time, the call button is right here, don’t be shy.”

As she left, Tony took a deep breath. And closed his eyes. 

Then he huffed as everything tightened, then released. This sucked. 

He sniffled. He wanted Rhodey. He wanted _Steve _.__

__Why did he have to forget his phone?_ _

__He looked around the room. There were several empty beds, and they made him feel even more alone._ _

__He closed his eyes and thought back to sitting on the couch with Steve, falling asleep on his shoulder and feeling his warmth soak in._ _

__He suddenly became aware of the feeling of being watched. He opened his eyes to see an omega nurse smiling kindly at him._ _

__“Hi. Are you my epidural?”_ _

__“Oh yeah, that’s me.”_ _

__The nurse picked up his chart. “Well Anthony, I’m Sarah and I’ll be talking you through the procedure ok?”_ _

__Tony smiled. “Uh thanks, and it’s Tony”_ _

__Sarah smiled as she skimmed through his notes. “Nice to meet you, Tony, and I see you’re having…twins. A girl and a boy.” Her expression transformed into a small frown and Tony’s smile dropped._ _

__“Yes, that’s right. Is there a problem?”_ _

__He had the sudden thought that she’d seen the no-alpha-listed tick box. Was she not going to let him have the meds because he didn’t have an alpha to ok them? Hospitals usually treated single omegas fine, since they were obligated to provide care, but you never knew with individual staff._ _

__Her expression cleared, and she put her hands up. “Yes, yes, of course. I just…look sorry if I’ve got this wrong, but would you happen to be the Tony my Steve has been talking about for the last couple of months?”_ _

__Tony’s eyebrows flew up. “You’re Sarah Rogers?!”_ _

__“I see my reputation precedes me.” She grinned. “Well don’t you worry, honey, I’ll make sure you’re well looked after.”_ _

__She subtly looked around. “Is it just you here? I would’ve thought Steve…”_ _

__She trailed off, frowning again, and Tony realised what she was thinking._ _

__“I left my phone at home and I haven’t been able to call anyone. But to be honest, it’s probably for the best. It’s just me, and so it should be just me when I do this.”_ _

__He grunted as pain rolled through him again._ _

__Sarah reached out and grabbed his hand. “No one deserves to be alone, especially not for something like this. Not when you have people who care and who would want to be here for you.”_ _

__Tony met her eyes and he could feel how much she believed it._ _

__He couldn’t ask Steve to be here. Steve, who had been so helpful, who was so good that he would look after a ruined omega, fix his house and watch movies with him even though he wasn’t courting and asked for nothing in return._ _

__He felt Sarah squeeze his hand._ _

__His resolve crumbled. “Ok, ok, yes please. Please get him here.”_ _

__Her smile was big and wide and the spitting image of her son’s. “That’s something I can fix. Now, I’ll give you the rundown and then how about I make that call?”_ _

____

  


* * *

  


Sam drove Steve to the hospital and walked him in. 

Steve was grateful. He’d had a moment of panic when he’d gotten the call, his brain trying to think of a million things at once. 

But Sam had given him a shake and he’d pulled it together enough for them to make it to the hospital.

The receptionist at the front desk recognised him from previous visits to his Ma and pointed him in the right direction when he asked after Tony. 

They jogged up to obstetrics, Steve’s eyes flicking over the room signs till they turned the corner and pushed open the door.

“Steve!”

Steve felt a grin spread across his face as he takes in the omega. Tired, worried but so beautiful and still so brave. “Hey Tony, couldn’t stick to the schedule huh?”

Tony scowled. “Not my fault they’re so eager to get out.” 

Steve huffed a laugh. Then he turned and pulled his ma in for a one-armed hug. “Hey Ma, you looking after him?”

Sarah kissed his cheek and swotted him. “Of course I am. Hi Sam, how are you, love?”

Sam leaned in for his own hug. “I’m good, Sarah. I left Carol in charge of the diner, so to be honest it might be on fire when I get back. How you doing, Tony?”

Tony looked a little overwhelmed for a second but rallied. “Hey Sam.”

Before he could say anything else, another contraction rolled through and he groaned, fingers clenching. A big, warm hand slipped into his and he grasped it without thinking. 

When it was over, he slumped and opened his eyes to see Steve’s worried expression. There was a touch of pain there too, and Tony looked down at Steve fingers squeezed between his. He dropped them. “Oh god, sorry.”

Steve flashed a grin. “S’ok, it’s what I’m here for, right?”

Sam cleared his throat and both men turned to him. “Hey Tony, I thought I might head to your place and grab your overnight bag, that ok?”

Tony sighed, gratefully. “Yes please, I’d completely forgotten about it.”

Steve pulled his keys out, Tony’s spare on the ring. “It’s in the lounge behind the couch.”

“Great, I’ll be back soon. Tony, keep up the good work.”

Tony gave a weak smile, and then Sam turned to leave, stopping only to pat Sarah on the shoulder on his way out.

Tony collapsed back against the pillows. “This part sucks.”

Steve rubbed the back of his hand. “I know.”

  


* * *

  


When it was finally time, the obstetrician arrived (who Tony was told had relieved Doctor Cho) telling Steve he’d have to go to the waiting room on the way out.

Tony grabbed Steve’s wrist and held tight. ”Stay. Please?"

Steve couldn't have moved for anything. He grabbed Tony's hand and clasped it tight. 

The doctor pulled on latex gloves and came over.

He introduced himself and explained what would be happening all the while giving Steve major side eye.

As a nurse helped get Tony into position, the doctor sidled up and started to subtlety herd Steve towards the door. 

"Are you his alpha?" The doctor asked when Steve refused to move. Stupid question; he had to smell that he wasn't. 

"No, but I'm staying.”

He looked at him considering, then clearly realised it was pointless to argue. "Fine. Stay up near his head and out of the way.”

Steve nodded and threaded his fingers through Tony’s, feeling a tight answering grip as another contraction hit.

  


* * *

  


All in all, it had been over quickly and at the end of it, Tony was exhausted.

Why did anyone do this? And why would anyone do this without drugs??

The epidural was still in his system, and he still felt out if it, but he was starting to slowly feel his body coming back, stiff and aching. He also felt super gross but honestly couldn’t bring himself to care. 

He looked over at the two bassinets and smiled. Those were his. He’d made those.

Steve was in the corridor and Tony could hear the soft rumblings of him speaking on the phone. 

He’d offered to call Rhodey and let him know, which Tony had appreciated. He wasn’t really sure how coherent it would’ve been if he’d made the call.

The doctor had let Steve cut the cords and even in his exhaustion Tony had watched his warm smile as he'd looked at the twins and all Tony could think about was how much he wished it were real. That Steve was his alpha, that these were his pups, and that after all this Steve would take him home and they'd raise the pups together. 

Steve was amazing and Tony wanted it. Wanted it so, so much. 

And as the nurse had carefully placed the babies on his chest, Tony had looked at the two squishy pink bundles and felt a warm feeling in his chest swell and crest. He felt the tears in his eyes spill over. 

Steve or no Steve, these were his pups and he would never stop loving them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Minor warning: Some angsty thoughts about self worth/discussion of past unhealthy relationship


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Final chapter - here we go!

 

* * *

 

The twins still didn't have names when Tony was allowed to head home a few days later.

As Steve puttered around his apartment putting his things from the hospital away, Tony sat on his couch and stared at the babies asleep in their carriers.

"You guys need names.”

"What?" Steve called from the kitchen.

"Oh nothing, just thinking out loud. They really need names. Rhodey'll be visiting soon and I'd rather not have to introduce them to their uncle as baby A and O.”

Steve wandered over to join him. “Have you got any in mind?"

"I never really thought about it properly," Tony admitted, a little sheepishly. "I was so focused on getting them here I didn't really think about the after."

Steve huffed a laugh at him.

“I kind of like James, you know, for Rhodey. He's a good guy to be named for. He's put up with a lot from me so I figure he can handle anything these two throw at him. Plus, I can’t wait to see the look on his face.”

Steve nodded. "Can't go wrong there. James is Bucky’s real name, you know.”

“Really? You know I actually never thought to ask?”

Tony had thought about it a lot while in the hospital. Steve had put in a lot of work and that deserved recognition. “Do you want to pick a middle name?”

Steve's eyebrows shot up. "Me? Really?"

Tony rolled his eyes. "You see anyone else here, big guy?"

"I couldn’t—"

"You can and you will. I wouldn't have been able to do this if you weren't my friend, so I guess, thanks, Steve. Thanks for being a really good guy.” This was awkward, Tony thought, mentally wincing. He cleared his throat. “So, you know, you get to name one.”

Steve looked a little overwhelmed. So, Tony nudged his shoulder. "Just don't pick something dumb, like Van Gogh or Banksy. I know what you artist types are like.”

Steve snorted and nudged him back before visibly starting to think.

"What are you thinking for the other one?"

“I was thinking Maria. It’d be nice to honour her, given she’s the reason I have this house and that I’m here instead of locked away in the city. She left me a home so I’d always have somewhere to go.”

“I think that’s a good idea. It’s a beautiful name.”

Tony nodded. “Ok, done.” Tony pointed to the pups, “Left one’s James, right one’s Maria. Pretty sure. I mean, I know they’re not identical twins, but small squishy babies still look super alike.”

In fact, the only way Tony could tell them apart easily was the hospital bracelet on each wrist, one with a big O and the other with a big A. That really made Tony’s blood boil. The staff at the hospital who had congratulated him had gushed more on having a male alpha pup, even though without the bracelets they wouldn’t have been able to tell. His kids had already been labelled and they were only a few days old. Tony was happy to have both, and his pups were going to get the same opportunities no matter what.

"How about Joseph?"

Tony looked over at Steve. "I kind of like it. Who's Joseph?"

"My dad.”

"That's perfect. James Joseph.”

Steve grinned, wide and pleased. "Thanks Tony. What about the other middle name?"

“What goes with Maria?” Tony thought for minute and then groaned. “Names are hard.”

Steve whipped out his phone. “I’m sure the internet can help.” His thumb scrolled through results and he tapped his finger against his lip. “A couple of suggestions here. You’ve named them both for people, want to continue that trend?”

“I don’t know who else I could name her for without showing some weird favouritism.”

“What about Antonia?”

“No way. I’m not naming her after me.”

“Well, why not? Alphas do it all the time, without doing any of the hard work. And you did all of it, all by yourself. And hey, you’re the one who uses pop culture to justify just about anything. Why don’t you just pull a Lorelei and name her after you?”

Tony gaped. “I’m so proud of you.”

Steve shoved him. “Knock it off.”

“Fine, fine. Maria Antonia it is.”

 

* * *

 

"Tony, you're exhausted,” Steve told him, voice gentle despite the noise. "Look why don't you head to my place and get some sleep? I can watch the pups for a few hours.”

Tony pushed himself up from where he was leaning against the wall. "No, what if they need me or they need a feed or—"

Steve held out his hand, keys sitting in his palm, stopping him. "I'm sure they'll need you," he said, smiling kindly. "Of course they will, but they can do with me for a couple of hours so you can get some sleep and take some time out. Their afternoon feed is in the fridge and they'll probably sleep soon anyway. Come on Tony, take a break and tag me in.”

Tony could feel both desires warring, reluctant to leave the twins but so tired and needing to sleep so bad. The last two and half months felt like a decade. It had taken forever for the twins to get into a routine, one often waking the other. Tony would wake to wails at odd hours of the night, stumbling around trying to get both fed and changed. Then collapsing back onto his mattress where he would, if he was lucky, get an hour or two before doing it all again.

They’d gotten a lot better, but the last couple of days had been rough and today, god, they just wouldn’t stop screeching. It’d been going on non-stop for over an hour before Steve had swung by, and Tony was at the end of his rope.

It was hard not to feel like a failure when you couldn’t soothe your own babies. What did that say about him as a parent? He’d already blown through all the blogs and videos offering advice from happy looking omegas whose kids dropped off as soon as they were swaddled.

How could their tiny throats take all that screaming? Were they not rubbed raw by now?

He’d fed them, changed them, burped them, bounced them. A hand against two little foreheads said no fever. They were overdue for their morning nap so it probably meant they were just overtired. But so was he, and if they’d let him, he’d drop off in a second—why couldn’t they?!

And he trusted Steve. Steve could and would look after them and they would be fine.

 _But,_ the little voice at the back of mind said, _on the other hand, you haven’t been more than a room away from the twins since the hospital and what if something happens and you aren’t there?_

He was so tired though.

Tony took a deep breath and reached out, swiping the keys from Steve's hand before he could change his mind. “Ok."

Steve smiled warmly. “Ok."

He grabbed Tony's coat off the back of the couch and started helping him into it. He picked up Tony's phone and slipped it into the front jacket pocket.

"I'll see you in a couple of hours. I changed the sheets two days ago so if you're fine with that, use my bed. If you want to take a shower, go for it; use anything you want."

Tony nodded. He wandered over to the bedroom door and peeked in, wincing as the twins' cries got louder. He stepped inside, leaning over and kissing both pups on the forehead before resolutely turning around and heading for the front door. They'd be ok. They were with Steve.

He opened the door and turned for a final look at Steve. The alpha waved, and Tony nodded, pulling the door shut behind him.

He made it to Steve's house and briefly considered a shower. He sat on the bed to pull off his shoes while he weighed the idea but soon felt the welcoming softness of the mattress calling to him.

And it was sooooo quiet.

He pulled off his jeans and jacket and lay back, the smell of Steve surrounding him as his head hit the pillow. He felt happy and safe, but before he could explore that idea, he was out like a light.

 

* * *

 

It was another hour before both twins finally wore themselves out. They hadn't stopped yowling no matter what Steve had done. It seemed only extreme baby exhaustion could stop them from doing what they wanted, which made Steve smile. Just like their dad.

Maria had lasted a little longer than J.J but luckily, she had given up not long after. It was easy to remember how cute they were when they weren't trying to scream the house down.

With the quiet giving him a moment to think, he realised he had skipped lunch and his stomach was making its displeasure known.

One look in the fridge told him Tony hadn't been upfront about keeping himself fed and healthy.

Steve shook his head. When was the omega going to start taking care of himself?

He paced the kitchen for a minute or two, before coming to the conclusion that maybe he needed a bit of help.

Grabbing his phone, he tapped the screen and put it to his ear. “Hey Ma, you busy this afternoon?"

 

* * *

 

When Tony awoke, he felt amazing. Well, still tired and achy, but compared to the last couple of weeks—amazing.

He stretched his limbs out, feeling the satisfying clicks and pops and relaxed, flopping onto his back. Steve's bed was comfy, much nicer than his for all it was brand new.

He lay for a few minutes, just resting before remembering that the twins weren't just next door. He rolled over and grabbed for his phone. God, it was 6pm.

He'd slept for nearly eight hours!

He felt guilt settle in his stomach. He'd left Steve for way longer than he'd meant to watching _his_ kids. Steve was probably mad; he probably had his own things that he wanted to do on the weekend.

He sat up, feeling grimy. He needed a shower.

Well, by this point ten minutes was hardly going to make a difference. Better to be hanged for a sheep than a lamb and all that. He clambered into Steve's ensuite, ducking under the warm water and soaping himself up. He smiled as he poured the mint body wash into his hand, breathing it in. It gave him a small primitive shiver that the alpha was using the scent _he_ picked out.

He didn't linger long before getting dressed and trekking back to his apartment.

He wasn’t sure what he expected when he opened the door. But whatever it was, it wasn't this. As soon as he stepped inside, he was assaulted by the smell of cooking, the soft sound of the TV and the chatter of voices in the kitchen.

He walked further in, letting the door close behind him. As the kitchen island came into view, he was surprised to find Sarah Rogers feeding one of the pups while Steve stirred something on the stovetop.

Before he could say anything, Sarah looked up and smiled. "Hi Tony love, how are you feeling?"

Tony managed to overcome his surprise to answer her. "I'm good, uh. What are you doing here?" Realising that it sounded more accusatory than he'd intended, he was quick to amend. "Not that you're unwelcome! You are absolutely welcome, I just didn't expect you?"

Sarah laughed. "Stevie called and said your supplies were a little low.” She gestured to several plastic containers on the bench top. "So, we did a bit of cooking.”

The pup (and Tony could not tell which one it was from here, which probably made him a terrible parent) finished the bottle and Sarah expertly juggled them, flicking the tea towel into her shoulder and burping them. It was the kind of ease Tony really wanted because he always felt like he was doing everything wrong.

He was still standing there surprised when Sarah stepped forward to guide him to the table. “Sit down dear. We’ve made dinner and if you eat all of it, there might be dessert in it for you.”

Tony flushed a little at being spoken to like a kid, but her fondly stern expression told him she knew he’d fallen into bad habits. “Yes ma’am.”

She ruffled his hair and handed him the baby she was holding (James, he was pretty sure) and Tony held his pup close to his chest, smiling when he gurgled. “Hey baby, you have a good sleep?”

James waved a tiny arm and Tony felt a smile spread across his face. It was nice to have a chance to actually miss his kids. He looked around and saw that Maria was lying on her back wiggling under the mobile. They were pretty cute, if he did say so himself.

Sarah set down a plate in front of him with a clunk, and the smell of beef stew, greens and mashed potatoes made his stomach growl in anticipation. He tried to shift James round awkwardly so he could eat, but he was plucked out of his arms by Steve who hugged the kid close and took him to join his sister.

Tony started to eat, all the while watching as Steve sat on the floor with the pups, letting them grab his fingers and chatting to them.

It made his chest hurt, because he had to wonder when Steve was going to get sick of playing helpful neighbour, but he couldn’t help but watch the scene longingly.

He turned back to his dinner and noticed Sarah watching him with a gleam in her eye.

She tipped her head at Steve. “He’d make a good father, you know.”

Tony fisted his hands on his jeans. “Yeah, I know”

 

* * *

 

Tony was working on his new prototype for long distance communication when he heard a knock on the door.

He’d been working on the prototype since inspiration had struck after taking apart the baby monitor to improve it. He was pretty sure he could increase the video quality, sound quality and develop scanning technology which could determine if a diaper needed changing. He could, and he had, which had sparked another idea for long distance communicators he was pretty sure he could patent and sell to the military.

Which had led to him digging out some old blueprints from school, ones he’d been looking to use when he’d finally gotten that engineering position he’d been waiting for.

He’d ordered materials, setting up shop in the spare room (lockable, he didn’t want to be caught out down the track when the twins started crawling) and started building for the first time since he’d gotten positive on that pregnancy test.

It was exhilarating.

It had taken him a week, but he’d finally finished his first AI. It still had a lot of testing to go through, but it was real and it worked!

It definitely had a lot of applications in science, medical, defence… the possibilities were endless.

But right now, Dummy’s main task was gently rocking baby bouncers and handing back pacifiers when they were dropped.

Tony would probably leave that part out of his sales pitch. Of course, he was going to have to work out how to patent as an omega…

Well, he’d cross that bridge when he came to it.

The babies were safely away from the engineering, napping in their crib when the knock came and for a moment Tony thought maybe their motor skills had developed quicker than expected, before realising the more obvious answer.

Tony put down the device and walked to the door.

He pulled it open and froze. “Dad?”

Howard Stark stood tall and imposing in the hallway but with an awkward air that Tony wasn’t used to. “Anthony.”

“Uhhh,” Tony stepped aside and waved a hand. “Come in?”

Thank god Steve had been by yesterday to watch _The Good Place_ and ended up cleaning the kitchen (argh Tony was the worst; he needed to do more housework and stop letting Steve take care of him) or this place would be a mess.

Tony closed the door before leaning against it. “So, what’s up?”

Howard looked around the living room, taking in the changes since he’d dropped Tony off a year ago. “Like what you’ve done with the place.”

Tony snorted. The apartment was a mishmash of baby things, engineering equipment, Tony’s old _X-Files_ poster and a few framed sketches Steve had done for him of the twins, the park and after one memorable argument, a colour sketch of Tony as the Chief Science Officer of the Enterprise clearly issuing orders to a sheepish Captain Kirk.

“Yup, turns out getting knocked up doesn’t automatically turn you into an interior designer.”

Howard smirked. “No, I guess not. It all went ok then?” He asked, gesturing at Tony’s belly.

Tony stifled the urge to roll his eyes. “Yeah, twins—an alpha and an omega”

“Well that’s—that’s great, son.”

Tony folded his arms against his chest. “Is it?”

“Course it is. Look, I know that this didn’t go as we had planned, and it was difficult to keep it under wraps, but it was for the best.”

“For the best?” Tony grit his teeth and forced his voice low so he wouldn’t wake the pups. “You think it was best to abandon me and leave me to deal with this on my own? To make me feel like I deserved this? To make me feel like I had no future? How was that for the best?”

“You know how people would’ve talked, Tony. Especially given we’d pushed you into society as if it didn’t matter you were an omega. The first thing on everyone lips would’ve been ‘they reaped what they’d sown.’”

“Who cares what they would’ve said?”

“You should’ve! Omega or not, you represent me and the Stark name. I needed time to get Tiberius to bond with you once he came back to the States to make everything legitimate. No-one needed to know about your regrettable indiscretion.”

Tony saw red. “My pups are not a _regrettable indiscretion._ I may not have planned them, may have been tricked into it by a selfish asshole who just wanted to get his kicks—who I will never bond with by the way, let’s be clear—but they are healthy, happy kids who are going to grow up and be whoever they want and I will be there for them every step of the way. And being a single omega parent isn’t going to stop me from making a name for myself either. I’ve got plans, just you wait and see.”

He was near shouting by the end and breathing a little hard, but he kept eye contact with Howard.

His father stared back a moment, clearly taken aback, before his shoulders dropped and he laughed. “Keep that fire my boy; you’re going to need it.”

The tension flowed out of Tony and he slouched against the wall. “If you can do anything to smooth the way…”

Howard nodded. “I’ll do what I can. Now, do I get to meet my grandchildren or not?”

Tony looked at his father and realised that although his own upbringing hadn’t been the most openly affectionate, and maybe they’d never truly be close, his dad did at least genuinely care about him.

He nodded.

And as he led Howard into the twins’ room, he vowed that neither J.J or Maria would ever for a _second_ doubt they were loved.

 

* * *

 

Tony pushed the buggy through the park, enjoying the warm June sun.

He looked down at the pups, just in time to watch Maria hit her brother in the face with a tiny fist. He snorted, JJ’s face screwing up and looking very put out.

“You guys are so cute,” he told them. “Like seriously, how are you so cute? How?”

He wandered up the path, past the sculpture of the town’s fourth mayor.

A dog. The town’s fourth mayor was a dog. Tony had choked on his coffee when Darcy had told him. Apparently, he’d had one of the highest approval ratings in the town’s history.

He heard the sound of footsteps and felt a hand clap his shoulder. “Hey, Tony.”

Tony grinned. “Hey, Steve, I thought you were meeting Bucky?”

“On my way now, just thought I’d say hi.” He leaned over the pram and wiggled JJ’s fist. “Hey guys, enjoying your walk?”

Tony wanted to purr in satisfaction at the scene in front of him, but he reined it in, keeping his face appropriately nonchalant.

Steve straightened up and looked back at him. “Well, I better head off. Bucky’ll already be at the bar. See you later, ok?”

“Yeah,” Tony said, trying not to sound too longing. If this were one of those cheesy omega rom-coms, Steve would lean in and kiss him, pull him close to say goodbye.

Of course, if this was a historical drama, Steve wouldn’t talk to him and the town would cast him out and send him to a convent so he really preferred the happy genre.

He sighed as he watched that perfect ass walk away.

“And I thought you couldn’t be anymore pathetic.”

Tony turned and saw Justin Hammer leaning against a park bench, hand resting on a designer buggy. Seriously, what the fuck? He didn’t even live in Shield, what was with this guy?

Justin nodded his head at Steve’s retreating back. “You know he won’t hang around, right? Some alphas like getting a bit of omega no strings attached, but I didn’t know no omega would fall so low as to give in.”

God, every time this guy opened his mouth Tony got closer to punching him in the jaw.

Justin smirked. “I’m sure he loves it. Some alphas do. The dirty fantasy of a desperate, unbonded, omega they’ve knocked up but they don’t have to bond with? It gets them off like crazy. At least until they find a more suitable and untouched one to settle down with. I hear he helps you out around the house, and I guess you...help him out too? How far does he get through the door before you bend over for him?”

Tony saw red. “We’re not sleeping together. And fuck you, I’m not like that and Steve’s just a nice guy.”

Justin’s face went faux sympathetic. “Oh, I see. Poor Tony, in love with an alpha he can’t have. Since you’re not fucking him, he must just feel sorry for you. It’s obvious you’re panting over him, but he’s too nice to tell you to back off.”

Tony felt the rage pushed aside by a sense of shame and dread. It was fine hoping and day dreaming about Steve, but not if he knew about it. Not if he felt so sorry for Tony that he hung out with him and the twins out of pity. And was that what everyone thought? That he fucked Steve for all the help around the house?

“Oh no, you didn’t know that? Everyone else did and it’s hilarious to watch. Well, I must go,” Justin turned to grab his pram and walk away. “Look after those bastards of yours.”

And then everything went a bit hazy.

 

* * *

 

“You know Mr Stark, when you moved back to town I didn’t realise you would cause this much trouble.” Mayor Fury looked at him from across his desk. “Though having known your mother, perhaps I should have.”

He walked around towards the pram and leaned over to look. “Those are some pretty cute kids.”

Tony pressed the icepack on his eye, cooling the darkening bruise. “Thanks.”

Stupid Justin. He’d clipped Tony with a flailing elbow, but Tony was pleased to note he could genuinely say ‘you should see the other guy’.

“I heard you were smart, but I have to be honest, fighting in the park with the omega of one of the more influential alphas in the area is not exactly the best idea.”

He looked at Tony eyebrow raised, but Tony remained silent.

He continued, “I’ve managed to smooth it over. I just explained to Pierce about omegas—he understood you’re all so hormonal—”

Tony snapped. “That’s not why!”

Fury chuckled. “There’s that fire I’ve heard about. Yes, I know, but if alphas will believe idiot stereotypes, why not take advantage? Saves a lawsuit.”

Tony felt torn between annoyed and amused. “Thank you then, I guess.”

“You’re welcome.”

One of the pups started crying and Tony started to stand, but Fury was there, plucking Maria, as it turned out, from the pram and holding her against his chest. He stared at her, and jiggled her gently as he hummed, and the crying abated, followed by a quiet giggle.

This whole situation felt a bit surreal.

Fury grinned. “Cute kid alright. Now, Mr Stark.” Fury moved to take a seat in the large leather chair behind the desk, still balancing Maria and moving his fingers for her to grab. “The issue I now have to deal with is how do I keep you out of trouble so that you don’t start brawls in my streets.”

“I don’t just start fights whenever I want,” Tony retorted hotly. “If Hammer would just stay out of my way—”

Fury lifted his free hand to stop him. “Mr Stark, I understand how Justin Hammer can be. I’ve been thinking though, perhaps we could put that sharp mind of yours to better use.”

He opened a drawer in his desk and pulled out a piece of paper and pushed it over.

Tony reached out to take it, eyes running over the text. “This is a deed?”

Fury nodded. “It’s for a shop, in town. You may not have seen it. It’s on Lee Street.”

“And you’re showing this to me because…”

“Because your grandparents used to own it and when they passed, I bought it.”

Tony blinked. “My grandparents?”

“Your grandfather was a mechanic. Did you know that? It’s his workshop. And I’ve been speaking with Steve Rogers, who tells me you're qualified in mechanical engineering and you’re looking to start a business. I figured, you could use space to do it in.”

Tony had never mentioned anything of the sort to Steve. How had Steve known what he dreamed? Inventing, making a name for himself. Room to actually develop his prototypes.

“Sometimes, Mr Stark, life throws challenges our way and we must deal with them the best we can. Doesn’t mean we can’t make something good come out of it too, or that we have to give up what we want for the future.”

He looked down at Maria, who had nodded off in the cradle of his arms. “These pups might not have been planned, but would you change having them now?”

Tony didn’t realise how true it was until he answered. “No. I may not have ever thought I would end up here, but I can’t imagine life without them now.”

“Well, I’m now throwing another challenge at you Mr Stark. I have a workshop which I can give you use of free of charge. Do you think you’ll regret taking me up on my offer?”

Tony felt a smile spread over his face. “No sir.”

Fury smirked. “Good.”

 

* * *

 

Steve sat at the bar with Bucky, nursing a beer and watching the game. He’d been too busy with everything lately to hang with Bucky as much as he used to, just the two of them.

They’d caught each other up and Bucky had just finished telling him about the VA when Steve had pulled out his phone to show Bucky a picture from the day before.

He turned the screen towards Bucky, little James grasping Steve’s finger and gurgling. Even the picture made him miss the kids.

Bucky whistled. “Man, you are whipped.”

“Shut up.” Steve shoved Bucky, who had to scramble to grab the bar to keep himself upright. “They’re cute kids.”

He flicked to the next photo, this one of Tony asleep on the couch with a pup snoozing in the cradle of each arm.

The longing just about overwhelmed him.

“Yeah, the kids, I can tell.” Bucky rolled his eyes.

Steve blushed. “Well, I mean, Tony’s great. Course he is, and the pups are great, I mean they do new things all the time and it’s amazing and Tony’s always so proud and it’s just really—”

“Great?” Bucky offered, eyebrow raised. He was teasing but he looked pleased.

“Yeah, pretty much.” Steve rubbed a hand over his neck.

“Hey,” Bucky said gently and Steve looked at him. “I think it’s great. Really. He’s a nice guy, Stevie. I know you’re already in love with him and it seems like you’re already pretty attached to those kids. It seems pretty perfect, given that you—"

Bucky was cut off as a hand landed on Steve's shoulder.

Steve turned to see Pierce and Rumlow standing over him.

"What's up, fellas?" He asked, eyebrow raised.

"Don't think we didn't get what you were hinting at during the group meeting,” Pierce told him angrily. "We weren't charged for arson and you know it.”

"I didn't say anything,” Steve said, hands raised in supplication. "Though if I did I don't think I'd say, 'paying off the investigator' was the same as 'innocent of arson’.” He took a sip from his beer. "That's just me though.”

He heard Bucky chuckle behind him and Pierce's glare intensified. "You've got no right coming to the parenting group in the first place. What were you even there for? Just to take pot-shots at us in front of our omegas?"

Steve sat up. "I came to support my friend. And if you two, and your omegas for that matter, had treated him with any respect, I would've kept my mouth shut.”

Rumlow growled and Steve stared back until he backed down. When he thought it was safe, he turned back to the bar prepared to return to his chat with Bucky.

"Didn't realise you needed to scrape the barrel, Rogers. Bit of friendly advice, don't get tricked into playing alpha for some omega bitch who was dumb enough to get pregnant."

He felt Bucky stiffen beside him. Steve sighed. So close.

He put down his beer and spun around on his stool.

“Bad decision, boys.” He cracked his knuckles, and felt Bucky step up to stand at his shoulder. “I could do this all day.”

 

* * *

 

"I thought I'd had my fill of this today when I dealt with Stark,” Fury said, long suffering.

"Stark? Is Tony ok?" Steve asked, suddenly concerned.

"He's fine. A little roughed up but fine. He's pretty tough." Fury glared at him across the desk. "Is this just what I can expect now? Dealing with trouble from the whole Stark-Rogers clan?"

Steve opened his mouth to protest, but Fury interrupted him. "Don't even try it. The whole town can see where this is going. God knows why it's taken you this long.”

Steve went to answer but Fury held up a hand. "I don't want to hear your lovelorn reasoning. Just sort it out. With any luck, I might be retired before the two small ones learn how to cause damage to public property.”

"Do I need to pay any damages for the bar?" Steve asked deciding to move on. "Is Bucky in any trouble?"

"Nothing was too damaged. Luckily those two have caused trouble in there before so Pietro and Wanda were happy to see them put in their place. They said next time you want a beer, it’s on the house. As for assault charges, no one wants to go after a one-armed war vet so Mr Barnes was off the hook. But they really wanted your pound of flesh, so I just reminded both Mr Rumlow and Mr Pierce that if investigators can be bought once they can be bought again and since their insurance pay-out was so generous, perhaps it best they keep a low profile.” Fury leaned back in his chair. “Now if you want to go find your beau I just gave him a building on Lee Street. Get out of my office.”

Steve grinned. "Yes sir.”

 

* * *

 

Steve stepped up to the faded storefront. He could still make out the words Carbonell’s Auto Repair above the roller door.

“Tony?”

He walked under the half open garage door and looked around. There were old counters and oil stains on the floor. It needed a clean, but the equipment looked solid from what Steve could see.

He could see a light in the office at the other end of the room and he walked towards it, pushing open in the door at the end. “Tony?”

The pram was in the corner and Tony sat at a desk bent over an old ledger. He looked up in surprise, smiling when he saw who it was.

“Steve! How did you know where to find me?”

“Fury sent me your way. I’ve never been in here before, but I should’ve made the connection.”  
He walked over to a noticeboard that was still covered in notes, receipts and newspaper clippings. He noticed the edge of a photo sticking out from behind.

There was a smiling couple that had to be Tony’s grandparents, standing in front of a freshly painted store. They were young, and clearly in love from the way they stared into each other’s eyes.

Steve smiled, and unpinned the photo. He handed it to Tony. “Check this out.”

Tony took it, eyes wide. “I’ve never actually seen what they look like. I was too young when they died, and Dad never had any pictures.”

“We should pick up a frame for it from Logan’s on the way home. What are you looking at there?”

Tony flipped a page. “It’s my grandad’s ledger. He kept records of all the cars he worked on. He worked on some real beauties. And he obviously liked to invent a little, he’s added notes for improvements he made, and in the sixties, he would’ve had to make a lot of this himself.”

“Guess it runs in the family then.”

“There are other notebooks here too, ideas, equations. There are so many ideas I could work on and make better. It’s amazing!”

Tony gestured out to the main room. “And this place is perfect. And I could probably repair cars as well, help people out.” His hands were moving around excitedly as he worked himself up.

Steve laughed, swept up in Tony’s enthusiasm. “It’s great, really great, Tony.”

He watched him as he walked around, talking about the changes he wanted to make, where his equipment would go, enjoying the genuine spark of passion. This was Tony in his element.

He also felt relieved. If he had this, Tony could fulfil his dreams from here in Shield.

He could stay here.

With Steve.

 

* * *

 

Tony had just started making the twins’ evening feed when there was a knock at the door.

It was Darcy. He opened his mouth to greet her when he noticed she seemed off. “Darcy?”

“Are you coming to Sam’s?”

“Sam’s?” He didn’t remember having plans.

“Oh sorry, of course you wouldn’t know!” She face-palmed. “Shield Fire Department have been called out to a fire, a big one, and when they go out on the serious jobs we hold a little vigil just so we can all be together while we wait. I assumed you’d want to come?”

Fire. A big one.

“I didn’t know there was a fire. I’ve been deep in the inventing zone all afternoon!” He walked back to the kitchen to grab his phone. There were two missed calls from Steve.

“Shit. He tried to call me.”

Darcy tutted sympathetically. “It’s ok, look Ian’s got the car outside. I’ll help you with the twins.”

Tony nodded, still feeling a little shell shocked. Steve has gone out with the fire service while he’d been in town, but never for anything too serious. Nothing that required a town vigil.

“Ok yeah, let’s go.”

Darcy helped him pack the twins’ bag, and Ian helped Tony strap the pups in their carriers in the back seat.

All the shops in town were closed, only the streetlights illuminating the dark.

But when they drove up to Sam’s, all the lights were on, and several cars were already parked outside.

They were greeted at the door by Carol, who took the half-made bottles from Tony and took them in the back to finish them up. Ian helped Tony with the baby carriers setting them up away from the noise.

Bucky was seated with coffee at one of the booths and he gave Tony a lazy wave.

Darcy sat down beside him and grabbed the TV remote and started flicking through the channels looking for coverage.

“Got it.” The reporter was on screen speaking in front of a large factory building. The blaze had engulfed most of the top floor.

There were multiple firefighters in the background, grabbing hoses and sending stream of water on the flames.

Bucky pointed at the screen. “They called about four local departments in. It’s a big one.”

Tony looked at the screen, feeling weirdly sick.

He was forced to look away when Maria started to fuss, clearly realising her meal hadn’t come.

“Tony.” There was a hand on his elbow and Sarah Rogers was at his side. She had the two bottles. “Need some help?”

“Please.”

She whipped JJ into her arms, easily settling him. Tony hugged Maria close.

He looked at Sarah. She was calm but Tony could see the stress bubbling under the surface.

He looked at JJ. The idea of his pups going somewhere dangerous was almost painfully overwhelming.

“How do you do it?”

She didn’t pretend to misunderstand. “Having a child is a bit like letting your heart run around outside your body. You want to keep them safe and close, but in the end, you’ve got to let them grow up and be their own person. So, you just have to hope and support them and love them and that’s all you can do.”

She flipped a tea towel on her shoulder and shifted JJ up. “I mean sure, sometimes you wish your child would simply stick to his art and not throw himself at fires like an adrenaline junkie, but at the same time, it’s better than when he was overseas being shot at every day so I can’t really complain.”

Tony snorted.

“That is basically the most Steve thing I’ve ever heard.”

Sarah smiled, gently putting JJ down as he started to nod off. “He does do my head in sometimes, that boy.” She glanced at Tony. “But he’s stubborn about the things he cares about.”

Tony swallowed. “Yeah, I know.”

“He’s worried me since he was born, you know. He was sick when he was little, and so small. The doctors told me he’d be lucky to reach adulthood. But then he got his treatments and it fixed him, but I think he still sees himself as that sickly young man who didn’t get to go out and play with the other kids.”

Tony finished feeding Maria and moved her to the carrier. “He always seems so assured.”

“He doesn’t like to back down from things. It’s hard to see it but he’s always worried that people won’t think he’s good enough, especially since he—”

She was cut off by Bucky yelling at the TV. They hurried back to join him at the booth and get a good view.

“That’s them.” He pointed to a group of firefighters on screen. “I saw the Shield logo on the sleeves.”

Everyone had gathered around to watch, and Tony realised they’d been joined by a Steve’s neighbour Clint, who gave him a friendly wave.

“There’s Natasha.” Bucky pointed to the smaller of the figures who wore a different uniform. Tony remembered Steve saying she was in charge, and now Tony could see Sam standing behind her holding one of the hoses and Steve talking with Natasha.

There was a loud whoosh of flames as the fire spread to the third storey. There was a shout from the firefighters and some movement, and then the camera panned to a window on the second floor. A man was waving out the window.

“Oh shit,” Bucky said.

They watched as Steve, and it was definitely Steve, turned to Natasha and started saying something to her.

She shook her head and pointed to the building and gestured.

Steve yelled something, his body stiff with frustration.

Natasha grabbed his jacket and yelled back, anger clear in her body language.

And then, Steve wrenched free of her grip and ran into the building.

“Stupid boy,” Sarah whispered next to him and Tony couldn’t help but agree. His heart was in his throat.

The cameraman had clearly noticed the commotion because the reporter stepped out of the way to give a clear view of the building.

Sam dropped his hose and made to run into the building but Natasha grabbed him and shoved him back angrily.

 _Booooooooom_. There was a loud whooshing sound and the fire erupted with a burst of flame.

The view went shaky as the camera fell to the ground from the force of the explosion.

The firemen dove back, yelling orders and rushing for hoses.

A fire chief ran at the camera crew and yelled at them to get out of the way and the feed cut back to the studio.

The presenter started to apologise for technical difficulties, but it just sounds like rumbling in his ears because Steve was inside and that building had exploded.

He felt someone grab his wrist and he saw Sarah with one hand over her mouth and one hand wrapped tightly around his arm.

And as he sat in the booth, heart pounding in his chest, listening to Darcy tap at her laptop as she searched for news and Bucky swearing angrily, he closed his eyes and hoped.

 

* * *

 

Steve pushed through the flames, the heat almost unbearable.

He made his way up the stairs, thanking his lucky stars they were still sound enough for now.

As he reached the door, he found it was stuck. He barged his shoulder into it a few times before it slammed open, letting him onto the second floor.

“Sir! Can you hear me? I’m here to help!”

He looked around, moving quickly across the room, searching for any sign of life.

He heard a cry and pushed through the smoke, to find a man collapsed near the window coughing loudly.

“Sir, we need to get out of here!”

The man tried to stand but fell back as he was overcome by a coughing fit.

Steve grabbed him, pushing him to his feet and back towards the door.

“Head down the stairs, don’t stop.”

The man nodded and made his way down the stairs quickly. Steve waited to follow, careful not to move too quickly. Falling at this point could cost both of them dearly.

When the man was half way down, there was a loud bang and a rush of heat. The force of the explosion shoved Steve up against the wall.

There was a creaking, and before he could move, the ceiling collapsed in on top of him.

Steve grunted. “Fuck!”

He needed to get out. The longer he was here, the likelier it was he’d be exposed to chemical smoke. And if he remained trapped, he’d burn.

He struggled against the weight, feeling the heat starting to burn through his uniform.

He could feel himself starting to panic. His pulse picked up.

He shoved against the burning plaster with his shoulder, but it wouldn’t move.

Oh god. He was actually trapped.

He slammed against it, yelling in frustration. The heat was becoming painful, his skin beginning to itch with it.

He couldn’t go like this.

Tony’s face popped into his head, making his chest hurt. He couldn’t die here, not without telling Tony how he felt.

He rammed at the barrier, one, twice, three times. On the fourth, there was a crack and Steve had to reach and grip the bannister to stop himself from crashing down the stairs.

As he made it out the door, he was swept up by an angry but relieved Natasha. Sam ran off to get one of the medics from the ambulance for his burns that he was rapidly becoming aware of as the adrenalin started to ebb.

He was done waiting. He needed to talk to Tony.

 

* * *

 

Tony looked over to the twins as Sarah fed them. She’d offered to, clearly wanting the distraction, and he hadn’t had the heart to refuse, even though all he’d wanted was to hide in the corner with his babies.

They’d surfed the channels and the fire had been extinguished after nearly an hour but there hadn’t been anything about the trapped man or any of the firefighters involved.

Carol had given them coffee and pie to keep them busy, but it sat like a lead weight in his stomach.

Bucky had been walking back and forth outside calling Natasha, calling Sam, calling Steve and just about anyone else he knew.

What if something had happened?

He thought about what it would be like without Steve coming by for dinner, or spending time on the couch arguing about which Doctor is best, or falling asleep with his head on his shoulder…

And if they were just sitting here and Steve was hurt or worse, that was almost too much to bear.

The sound of gravel made his head shoot up. He wasn’t the only one.

He heard the slam of car doors and the sound of voices though they were muffled and he couldn’t tell who was speaking.

His heart was in his throat.

The door to the diner opened and Sam walked in, followed quickly by Natasha, who had Bucky draped over her shoulder hugging her tight.

One breath. Two.

And then Steve walked in the door, wearing a far too tight borrowed shirt and skin blackened with ash.

If Tony wasn’t so relieved he was pretty sure he’d be ridiculously turned on.

Steve offered a sheepish grin when he saw them all waiting.

“Hi everyone,” he said.

There was a sob behind him and Sarah rushed over to Steve to hit him on the shoulder and pull him into a hug.

Steve held her tight against him and let her squeeze his tall frame.

When she pulled away, Steve only had eyes for Tony as he walked over to him.

“Hey,” he said softly, and Tony grabbed for him almost unconsciously, hugging him tight and breathing hard.

“It’s ok.” The reassuring hum in his ear made him slump and cling tighter.

For a moment, there was nothing else except Steve, and then suddenly a cry from the corner made them pull away.

“Oh.” But as Tony moved to settle JJ, Steve put a hand on his shoulder. “I got it.”

He picked up the pup, careful not to smudge him with ash and rocked him gently.

Tony was so in love with this man.

 

* * *

 

Steve waved as Darcy’s car drove off, opting to drop his mother home in his truck.

Sarah had been oddly quiet the whole trip, but Steve had put it down to tiredness. As they crossed the bridge over the river, he switched off the radio.

“I’ve decided to tell Tony how I feel. It’s time.”

He expected her to be pleased, so he was surprised when she turned to him angrily.

“What were you thinking?”

Steve started. “What?”

“You! With the running into a building that then exploded!”

Steve frowned. “I had to save that man, he was—”

She smacked his arm.

“Ow!”

“No, you were being stubborn and unreasonable. Trying to be a hero.”

“No, I—"

“Yes. We all saw it, Steve. Natasha tried to stop you and you went anyway.”

“I had to—”

“She is the head of your team, she is in charge. You didn’t even wait to see if she had a plan or if there was a safer way to get to him. You just rushed in like a fool.”

Steve stared ahead, jaw set. “I couldn’t just do nothing. I’m a firefighter.”

“No one is saying you had to. I’ve made my peace with your choices, Steven and even though I worry, I’m proud of you. But you made a reckless decision without asking anyone, without thinking about anyone but yourself.”

They reached the house and Steve parked up in the driveway, but she made no move to get out if the car.

“I thought you cared about Tony.”

Steve turned to face her, taken aback at the change in topic. “I do.”

She looked him in the eyes. “And the pups?”

Steve squeezed his hands tightly on the steering wheel. “Of course!”

“Well, if you’re serious about being their alpha, you’d better start acting like it,” she snapped.

Steve growled. “I am, you know I am.”

“Then it’s not just about you anymore. You’d have a family to look after, who would suffer if you didn’t come back.” Her voice cracked in a sob, and he felt instantly guilty.

Because she wasn’t wrong. Natasha had given him a bollocking in the car about much the same thing. But it sounded different when his ma put it in the context of a family. His family. The one he wanted and he could have if the amazing omega he’d found would have him and if he didn’t fuck it up.

Oh geeze. He reached out and grabbed her hand. “Ma.”

She brushed her arm roughly against her face. “If you really love them, you need to be all in. I can’t sit in Sam’s with your omega and your kids and watch you die, do you understand me?”

She opened the door and got out of the car. He leaned over to catch her arm. “I get it Ma, I do. I’m sorry.”

She smiled at him. “Then what are you doing sitting around here? Go get him, Stevie.”

 

* * *

 

Tony got out of the shower feeling tired and warm.

The whole evening had been exhausting and once the twins were down for the night he’d indulged in half an hour of hot water.

He pulled on his flannel pyjama pants and a soft worn t-shirt and tugged on his robe before heading downstairs to grab a glass of water.

He was just heading back up the stairs when there was knock at the door. He frowned and looked to the clock in the living room. It was pretty late.

He pulled his robe around him and opened the door.

“Steve?”

“Hey.” He was still covered in soot and looked tired, but his eyes were clear and focused.

“Are you ok? Why aren’t you resting?”

“I had to talk to you. I’ve been wanting to ask you something for a while, but I’ve put it off. But I had a close call today and I regretted not asking you. I don’t want to risk waiting anymore.”

“Steve,” Tony breathed. Was this happening? He wanted it, god he wanted it. But he couldn’t.

“I love you,” Steve said, proving once again that he was no coward. “I’m in love with you, and I was hoping you might like me too. At least, enough to give us a try, what do you say?”

He wanted to say yes. The idea that he could have this man and have his dream was too much to imagine all at once.

But he couldn’t. Because he couldn’t lose it when Steve finally decided raising kids that weren’t his was too much. Or some eligible single omega came to town and Steve realised he could have someone who hadn’t slept around and came with complications. It would be bad enough when Steve stopped coming around as his friend, let alone if Steve was his bonded.

He felt his throat catch at the thought of it.

Better to end it now, save himself the pain of losing the life he wanted.

“I can’t,” he whispered, unable to look Steve in the eye. “I’m sorry Steve, I can’t. I mean, I know it seems like a good idea now, but I mean I just don’t see how there could be a future for us, not with the kids, I mean—-”

“Oh,” Steve said, shoulders slumping. “Oh of course. Yeah, I didn’t realise you’d already found out about me, but I completely understand. I was going to tell you, I promise.”

Tony frowned. “Found out about you? What do you mean?”

Steve blinked. “You don’t know? Then, what did you mean about not seeing a future?”

“Steve, you have to know what people will say! It’s bad enough now, when they think you’re just fucking a fallen omega in exchange for help around the house. If you tried to bond with one, you’d be a laughing stock. I mean look at you, you could do so much better.”

“Do better? Tony, how could I do better than you?” He reached out to grab Tony’s wrist and stroke gently with his thumb.

"I just think you haven't thought this through,” Tony countered angrily. "You're a hot, fit alpha who could get any omega you wanted. You don't have to shop second-hand!"

Steve frowned. "I wish you wouldn't say stuff like that. It's just things alphas say to make omegas feel ashamed of something that two people are responsible for. There's nothing wrong with you. You're amazing.”

"And what about down the track when you decide you don't want someone else's kids and you decide to leave and find some fit, proper omega to have your own family with? How am I or the pups supposed to deal with that?!"

"I'm infertile!" Steve blurted, and then flushed.

Tony raised his eyebrows in surprise. "What?"

"I, ah, can't father pups.”

"I’m confused.”

"I was really sickly when I was young, bad enough they thought I wouldn't make it to adulthood, to be honest. I was way too small for an alpha. But my Ma took me to a specialist, Dr Erskine, and he offered me experimental treatment. It fixed the worst of my problems, and I finally grew into my alpha body, and it was great. But it made me infertile. I can knot but I, well, I shoot blanks I guess.” He looked at the floor, not wanting to see whatever was in Tony's eyes.

It had been hard accepting it. He'd always wanted a family, grandkids for his mother to fuss over.

When he'd met Peggy Carter, it had been great. She was an omega who knew what she wanted and what she didn't want. She wanted a career, and she had it—the first omega to reach a US military command position—and she didn't want kids. It had worked really well for them at first, enjoying her heats without her having to worry. But she was a high achiever, a hard worker, and her desire and determination to be defined for herself rather than her gender meant that trying to maintain a relationship with Steve hindered more than supported. They'd ended it amicably and Steve was glad to have her friendship.

Being an infertile alpha was hard though. No respectable omega's parent wanted them bonded to someone who couldn't provide offspring.

"I always thought that even if I met my true mate, once they realised I couldn't give them a family, they'd resent me and I’d end up alone.”

Steve finally met Tony's eyes. "But then I met you, and you were gorgeous, opinionated, funny and stubborn and I thought that's him. He's the one. And you were pregnant and I realised that maybe I could have everything I wanted. The twins were a bonus I hadn't thought to wish for. I love you so much, and I love J.J and Maria too. I want this Tony, god I want this.”

Tony's mouth had dropped open in shock and Steve hastened to speak. "Maybe this isn't what you want, and if that's the case then I get it, and I’d hope we could still be friends. Or maybe you do but you think you might want more kids someday and that's something I won't be able to give you. So, it’s worth you thinking about. But just please don't think I'm not serious or that I haven't thought it through. I have and I love you and I like to be your bond mate, if that's what you want too.”

Tony stares at him. He couldn’t believe it. “Steve, I—”

“It’s ok, Tony. I get it.” Steve’s smile became stiff, the happiness that had been there earlier leaching away. Tony felt a wave of panic flare up before he angrily pushed it away. He wasn’t going to let his experience with Ty ruin this for him. An alpha that he already loved, and who knew him, wanted him and his pups, and all he had to do was take the chance.

“No, Steve. Wait.” He grabbed Steve’s hand, thumb ghosting over his palm. “I love you too. I wouldn’t have made it this far without you, and you’re—you’re amazing. You’re sweet, and so good with the pups and you make me laugh no matter what mood I’m in, and god you’re hotter than any artist has the right to be, let’s be honest.”

Steve snorted but pulled Tony closer to him so he can press a kiss to his forehead. “So, can I—can I take you out please?"

"What?"

"I want to do this right. You deserve the courting experience even if the way we did this was a bit unorthodox.” He gave Tony a crooked smile.”

"Out? Just you and me? What about the twins?"

"Ma will babysit. She has the next couple of days off, and trust me she'll be thrilled I actually alpha'd up and did it.”

Oh, well, yes, that would work. Sarah could watch them. While he went out. And left them with someone else.

Ugh. It made him feel weird.

It wasn't that he didn't trust Sarah. He absolutely did. She was a trained nurse who worked on the maternity ward and had managed to get Steve to adulthood, so he was sure she could handle pups who mostly just slept and cried. Probably better really since she had medical training. And she’d babysat with Steve, and come over to bring food and play, so it’s not like the pups weren’t comfortable with her.

But, the idea still made him feel a bit anxious. He really only felt comfortable with him there or Steve; and Steve only counted because he'd been around so much from the start, looking after Tony, taking over when he got too tired.

Tony's hindbrain had already marked him as sufficient protection, which really should have been a huge hint to where this whole thing was going. But, bringing in someone else...

"I don't know—"

"Please Tony?"

Tony looked at the hope in Steve's face and pushed his anxiety away. They'd be fine, and he really, really wanted this.

"Ok. Ok, yeah, let's go”

 

* * *

 

 _Well, that was a pretty successful date_ , Tony thought a little giddily as he moaned at the feel of Steve cradled between his thighs and sucking on his neck.

God, he hadn't been touched since Ty and it felt sooo good.

They'd ended up at Steve's place at the end of the date, Sarah having offered to stay overnight at Tony’s so they didn't have to worry about cutting their time short.

She was clearly a genius. He was going to send her flowers.

Tony shivered as Steve's hand ran up his side and he turned his head to capture Steve in a kiss.

They explored each other, the kiss hot and arousing. Tony was just falling into it when he felt Steve start to slip his shirt up.

Oh. He'd forgotten that was part of it.

Steve obviously felt him tense because he pulled away to look at him.

"You ok?"

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine. It's just a bit, you know, with the babies…"

"Oh god, are you still too sore? The pregnancy blogs said you should be ok, but I didn't mean to push.”

Tony was confused for a minute and then remembered why he hadn't been interested in even getting himself off for the last little while. It was accompanied by a little flush of delight that Steve had _researched_ to make sure he’d be comfortable.

"No, Steve, stop, it's ok. That is definitely all fine now and I am super into this, ok?"

Steve visibly relaxed and nodded. "Ok, then what's got you all stiff?"

"Well—"

Steve pinched the bridge of his nose. "Stop, I know I walked right into that one.”

Tony snorted. "Ok, jokes aside, I just meant that the rest of my body hasn't quite gone back to my sexy pre-pup physique. I didn't want you to be disappointed."

Steve leaned down to kiss and nuzzle his hair. "Tony, we met while you were pregnant with twins and I have waited over a year to be with you. How could you think that I'd be disappointed when I know how lucky I am that you chose to be with me? Besides,” Tony felt his hand slip back up under his shirt to gently rub at the stretched skin underneath. "None of this makes you any less beautiful.”

Tony sighed and nodded. Steve stripped of his shirt along with his own and smiled down at him.  
“Gorgeous.”

Tony felt himself flush, and then groan as Steve dipped his head to mouth along the marks on his stomach.

Not long after, his pants joined his shirt on the floor and he was completely exposed to Steve’s hungry gaze.

God, Ty had never made him feel like this. Hot, desirable and desperate but also so loved.

The feeling of warmth was shattered by a spike of lust as Steve’s mouth descended and he was engulfed in wet heat.

“Ungh!” Tony groaned, Steve bobbing his head, sucking intermittently. His previous partners had never liked doing this, well not this way around. Tony hadn’t realised what he’d been missing with someone who actually made an effort.

Steve licked a line up his cock as his eyes met Tony’s and Tony felt himself flush. Steve gave him a mischievous smile. Before Tony could ask what he was smiling at, Steve’s head dipped down and Tony felt the stroke of a tongue against his hole.

“Oh my god, Steve!” Tony groaned, and Steve’s hand came up to hold him in place as he writhed.

“You like that?” Steve asked and Tony nodded hard. The pressure increased, and Steve’s tongue was inside him.

Tony lost track of time as Steve licked him open, gently adding fingers to tease him. He was so wet it wasn’t funny.  
When it was time for Steve to enter him, he slid home with a firm but gentle push that had Tony panting and whining for more. “Alpha, please,” he breathed.

He was looking Steve in the eyes, so he could see the way his pupils dilated and his eyes went black with heat. “My omega. Mine.”

Tony nodded his head so quick he was sure it bobbled. “Yes, yours, please, Steve—”

Steve picked up the pace, hitting him deep inside. It was close, so close to being right, but it still felt so good.

He felt Steve grab his hips and carefully flip him onto his knees. He slid back in and _oooooh_. That was it.

“So good, Steve.”

Steve leaned down to breathe in his ear. “I like it when you say my name.”

Tony shivered and groaned. “Steve, Steve!”

That got him a faster, stronger pace and it wasn’t long before he felt himself coming, Steve’s hand wrapped around him strong and hot, his arms collapsing beneath him.

He could feel Steve’s knot forming and pushed his face into the sheets. “Come on, please,  
Steve. _Alpha!_ ”

He heard Steve growl behind him and reach his peak as his knot pushed inside and swelled, locking them together.

Steve panted for a moment against his neck, kissing the skin there between breaths, before rolling them onto their sides. Tony felt himself be pulled close, still shivering with the aftershocks, to spoon against a firm chest.

He let his mouth be claimed by warm insistent kisses. God, this man was so right for him.

“Steve?”

“Mmm?”

“Bond with me?”

Steve froze for a moment, then pulled away and leaned up on one elbow to look at him properly.

Tony turned his head to hold his gaze.

“Really?”

Tony nodded, eyes feeling a little wet. “You’re amazing. It’s been a year and you’ve already seen me at my worst and put me first every time. I love you and I want to keep you, so bond with me?”

“It’s awfully soon, Tony. Are you sure? I was going to court you first. You deserve to be treated right.”

Tony chuckled, leaning back to kiss Steve’s pec. “Steve, you’ve fed me, built my nest and fought off bullying parents. You’ve ticked all the boxes. I love you. Bond with me.”

Steve looked at him, searching his face for something. He must’ve found it because a smile spread over his face, and his eyes got a little misty. He leaned down and kissed Tony, gentle and hot and Tony groaned, loving every minute of it. Then Steve pulled away, kissing down his neck, and sucking on a sensitive spot.

One bite each would be all it took, triggering the bonding gland and then Steve would be his and everyone would know it. They’d be a family, and Tony would get to have everything he ever wanted.

He arched his neck. There was a slight pause and then a sharp pain as Steve sunk his teeth in.

The pain quickly subsided as his body reacted, sending dopamine through his system and flooding him with a warm floaty feeling. He groaned pleased and accepted the kiss Steve pressed to his lips.

He sighed as he felt Steve’s knot finally deflate and slip free.

He was sleepy and sated and happy. He tried to lean to return the favour but his limbs felt heavy.

Steve chuckled and pulled him until his face was resting on Steve’s shoulder. Well, this was very convenient. Steve was so thoughtful.

He gave an exploratory lick and felt Steve shudder in anticipation. He could draw it out, but he wanted this, wanted Steve to be officially his and make sure no one else could touch him.

It was the instinct talking, he knew, wanting the bond secured. But it didn’t stop him from growling at the thought of anyone else getting near Steve. When he couldn’t wait any longer, he nuzzled in and clamped down.

Steve whined and whimpered pleasingly and when it was done he wrapped his arms around Tony and held him tight.

He could smell them now, the mix of both of them that made the bonded scent. He luxuriated in it.

He propped his head up on Steve’s chest to look at him and was shocked by the tears pricking Steve’s eyes.

“Hey, Steve, what’s wrong?” His fingers brushed Steve’s cheeks gently.

“Sorry,” Steve muttered, palm rubbing at his eyes harshly. “I just, I never thought I’d get here you know? First, I was too small and sickly, and then I couldn’t have kids and I thought it would just be me on my own forever. And now I’ve got you, and the pups and I just…It’s a bit much, is all, getting everything you wanted all at once.”

Tony felt the emotion swell in his chest and surged up to kiss Steve with everything he had.

“I love you,” he told him.

Steve grinned, cheeks still flushed. “I love you too. You’re amazing.”

Tony sat up and wriggled suggestively. “Then how about you throw a little more of that awe my way, huh?”

Steve moaned appreciatively and Tony was still laughing as Steve flipped them over.

 

* * *

 

Epilogue

Steve smiled as the twins whined over the outfits he’d put them in.

“But Papa, I want to wear my dino shirt,” Maria fussed grumpily. She kicked her legs as he tried to push her shoes on and tugged at the clips he’d put on to hold back her dark curls.

JJ was trying to unbutton the shirt he’d been put in and Steve reached an arm out to pull his hand away.

“Come on, guys,” he cajoled. “It’s a big day for Daddy and we want to look our best for the pictures, don’t we?”

He knew they were just being trouble for the sake of it. He’d taken the kids to town last week to pick their clothes on the basis that if they were excited to wear them, they’d be easier to wrangle. Maria had found an animal print dress she’d loved. JJ had chosen a shirt and suspenders set (“it looks like Mum-did and Sons Papa, look!”, “Mumford buddy, Mumford and Sons”—he was so blaming Darcy for that). So, he knew they liked the clothes, but he suspected that they’d worked out there was going to be a boring part they’d have to sit through, before they got to have fun.

JJ flopped on the floor dramatically.

“We take pictures all the time, why do we gotta, gotta get”—he got distracted by the bow round his neck—“get dressed up?”

Steve finished tying Maria’s shoes and turned to look at him. “Because your dad has done something really amazing and people are coming to take pictures and let people know. It’s a very big deal, and he wants us there too. And we’re going to go because we’re proud of him, aren’t we?”

JJ huffed. “Yes.” The dark eyes and pout were all Tony and it was all Steve could do to keep a straight face.

Ok then. “And remember, once we’ve done the opening, we get to go to the party at Sam’s. And Sam promised he’d make your favourites”

Maria jumped up. “Apple pie?”

“Yup.”

“Chocolate cake?”

“Yes, both. And he promised to make enough so you can both have big slices, but only if you’re good, ok?”

“Yes Papa,” they sighed in unison.

He stood up and looked at them. Oh god, they were so cute. He snapped a quick picture with his phone.

“Are you going to dress up?” JJ asked, sticking his hand in his mouth.

He sighed. From the mouths of babes. “I am dressed up.” He tugged at his dress shirt feeling self-conscious. He knew Tony had told him he didn’t care, but he didn’t want to embarrass him. This was a big deal.

He heard the front door open. “Stevie?”

“In here Ma!”

His mother poked her head around the corner. “Oh, don’t you all look smart?”

“Nana!”

The twins ran over to her, hugging her legs and accepting kisses when she leant down.

“Are we all ready to go, Steve?"

“Yeah, if you can get the kids in the car, I was just going to change.”

She raised an eyebrow at him. “You look lovely, why are you changing?”

He opened his mouth to answer, and then realised that if he told her he was feeling underdressed because a four-year-old told him so, she would laugh in his face.

“Never mind.” He picked Maria up and put her on his hip. “Let’s just go.”

As they pulled up to the workshop, there was already a crowd. Reporters were setting up cameras and half the town were milling about to watch.

He helped his mother herd the pups in through the side door, using his key, before any of them thought to snap a picture.

“Tony?”

Tony turned from where he was talking to Rhodey and, oh. That would be Howard Stark.

“Steve!” Tony’s grin was warm and Steve felt immediately thrilled to see him. Tony had been so busy with the preparations for this that he’d hardly ever been home and conscious the last two weeks. And he’d had to go to NYC for the past three days for meetings. Steve had missed him like crazy.

He walked to meet him and was greeted with a kiss. “Hi, Sweetheart”

“Hello, Handsome, don’t you clean up well?” Steve felt himself preen. Then Tony knelt down. “And how are my babies?”

The pups scurried over for cuddles.

“Daddy,” Maria said, eyes huge. “Did you get me a present?”

“And me!” JJ said, shoving her.

“Ah no, no fighting” Tony said, stopping them from tumbling over. “And no, I didn’t, sorry, I didn’t have time.”

“What are you talking about, Tony?” Howard said, cheerfully and pulling a couple of fancy chocolate bars from his jacket pocket. “Of course we brought presents.”

He crouched to hand them over. “Hi guys, you want some of this?”

Tony rolled his eyes. “You guys remember Grandpa Howard, from Skype?”

Steve swooped in then. “I think we’ll just hold off on chocolate until after the ceremony. I only just got them dressed.” He tucked the bars in his pocket, ignoring the whines from the tiny people at his feet. He held his hand. “Mr Stark, good to see you in person.”

Howard straightened up and grasped his hand, a tad too tight. “Steve, nice to finally meet my son-in-law.”

There was a moment of posturing, alpha to alpha, as Howard sized him up. Steve suspected that no matter how rocky their relationship was at times, that Howard still wanted to be the head alpha in Tony’s life, bond mate or no. Steve stared him down, polite smile on his face. He wasn’t easily cowed.

The moment was broken by Sarah introducing herself, but Steve felt pride fill his chest as he wrapped an arm around Tony’s shoulders. Tony made eye contact with him and pointedly rolled his eyes and Steve blushed a little.

“Are you ready?”

Tony sucked in a breath and let it out. “Yes. I mean it’s a big deal and it’s going to make a big splash, not necessarily all positive but I’m ready.” He turned to Steve. “You’re sure you’re ok with this? This is going to piss a lot of people off. And it’s going to cause a bit of a frenzy. For you guys as well.”

Steve snorted. “Well, even if I wasn’t bit late now isn’t it? They’re all outside.”

Tony’s face went serious. “You know that I’d call it off if you asked, for you and the kids.”

Steve pulled him in and kissed his forehead. “Only because you know I’d never ask.”

Tony relaxed against him. “You look amazing, by the way.”

Steve smiled. “And you. You look like you’re about to take the world by storm.”

Rhodey appeared at Tony’s shoulder looking apologetically at Steve. “Sorry to interrupt guys, but we’re ready to go.”

Tony nodded and patted him on the shoulder. “Let’s get this show on the road.”

Tony’s new PA, Pepper, moved around positioning everyone and being scarily efficient. Steve had only met her a couple of times, but she seemed like just the support Tony would need.

Tony stood on a raised podium, and Steve, Sarah and the kids stood to the side.

At a nod from Tony, Rhodey hit the doors to the garage. The flashes started even before the door fully opened and they could hear the chatter of the waiting reporters.

Tony leaned into the microphone. “Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you for coming and being here on this auspicious occasion. I’m sure you’re all to hear what the news is, and I won’t make you wait any longer.”

He looked to Steve and Steve smiled at him, chest filling with pride. Tony nodded and turned back to the waiting crowd.

As he raised his hands, a perfectly timed banner dropped from the ceiling.

“Please give a warm welcome to the new face of technology. Stark Solutions!”

 

* * *

THE END

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  Done! Thank you all for reading and I hope you enjoyed :)
> 
> I think I might have hit cheesy romance bingo?  
> Protagonist moving to a small town to start a new life? Check. Hypothermic cuddling? Check. Hot firefighter love interest who has to fight a fire?! CHECK.
> 
> Two quick notes:
> 
> 1\. I do have plans for more in the Rockabye verse (and at least one non-rockabye story) so if you’d like to be kept informed, please subscribe to the series or to me as an author :)  
> 2\. And If you’re looking for more to read in the meantime, I have posted a short rec list on [my tumblr here](http://bladeofthenebula27.tumblr.com/post/182112125749/stevetony-rec-list-1) if you want to show other authors some love!


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